


Seeing is not believing

by Ann_O_Neem



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Actual Cupid Reiner Braun, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Awkward Romance, BAMF Armin Arlert, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Former thug Levi, Good Parent Grisha, Government Conspiracy, M/M, Matchmaker Armin, Mind Manipulation, Oblivious Eren Yeager, Police Officer Erwin Smith, Prosthesis, Protective Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Saving the World, Seer Eren, Soulmates, Tattooed Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Trans Mikasa Ackerman, Weird use of Greek Mythology, matchmaker Mikasa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-28
Updated: 2015-06-08
Packaged: 2018-03-03 21:56:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 85,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2889338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ann_O_Neem/pseuds/Ann_O_Neem
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Whenever you meet someone new, there's always this kind of little thought nagging you in the back of your head. Something like <i>this boy's going to be a real nerd later </i> or <i>this girl will be a famous ballet dancer. </i> Tiny and unimportant thoughts that everyone forgot when the person talks for the first time.</p><p>Eren Jaeger was different.</p><p>Mostly because those thoughts were plaguing him, whenever he went, they always hovered in his mind, nagging him with countless whispers of <i>this boy will win the Nobel prize of chemistry</i> or even <i>this girl will develop a new kind of vaccine. </i> They aren't really hurtful, always telling him good things about the person's future.</p><p>But they sometimes came with a condition. And those were the worst.</p><p>Especially when one tells him that he has to marry a midget unless he wants the world to end.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So there was this plot bunny that didn't let me sleep and... ta-da, here's this chapter.  
> I think it makes sense.

Whenever you meet someone new, there's always this kind of little thought nagging you in the back of your head. Something like ' _this boy's going to be a real nerd later_ ' or ' _this girl will be a famous ballet dancer_ '. Tiny and unimportant thoughts that everyone forgets when the person talks for the first time.

Eren Jaeger was different.

Mostly because those thoughts followed him, whenever he went, they always hovered in his mind, nagging him with countless whispers of ' _this boy will win the Nobel prize of chemistry_ ' or even  _'this girl will develop a new kind of vaccine'_. There aren't really hurtful, always telling him good things about the person's future.

But they sometimes came with a condition.   
And those were the worst.

Like, ' _See this blond kid in your preschool class? He's going to be a genius, Einstein's equal. That is, if he doesn't bail out of school after endless bullying in high school_ '.

And because Eren Jaeger is a good kid, he immediately befriends the blond kid and fights every bully wanting to annoy the boy.  
Of course, he discovered with time that Armin (the blond kid) was an awesome boy and that befriending him was the best choice he had ever made.

But it doesn't mean that Eren always follows the advices given by those annoying little thoughts.

When he first began to notice that not everyone heard those things, Eren decided to stop talking about them, mostly because it unnerved his parents whenever he blurted to whoever crossed his paths things about their future and how they had to work hard on something to achieve greatness. Having something along a seer for a kid surely wasn't what the perfectly normal Jaeger family had wanted. So when Eren got to his fifth birthday, the little boy decided to hide it. Or rather, he was forced to.

Knowing that his mother would die after having a fight with him would do this to any kid.

But Eren wasn't stupid, those were just thoughts, mere things that were like dreams and didn't mean that they were true. So the kid tried his best to ignore this foreboding thought and continued living happily with his family. His mother didn't say anything about his new-found neediness and graciously gave him hugs whenever the kid asked for them. And just like that, Eren forgot about that persisting whisper in the back of his mind and went back to his merry days.

Until they crashed down.

As he neared his tenth birthday, he got in a huge argument with his mother in the middle of a little shop, asking angrily why she wouldn't let him go to Armin's place while she sternly retorted that he was to stay at home to repent on his horrible grades. It was at this point that Eren let out the most hurtful words he knew, and then dashed out of the shop, leaving his annoyed mother behind him. The kid would forever regret that word and leaving without even telling his mother that he hadn't meant it. That he would always love her.

The rest was just screams, rumbles, unending pain on his arm and leg, and blurry memories of blood running on his face.

To put it blankly, Carla Jaeger died that day after having a huge argument with her son.

Ten days later, Eren watched with dead eyes how she was let down in her grave and vowed to himself to never again ignore the thoughts in his mind. He branded that in his heart and his eyes shone brightly while he tightened his fist in the pocket of his newly made suit. When his father asked him if he wanted to keep living with him or go to his uncle's house, Eren just had to glance at his father's face to make his decision.

' _If this man is left alone, he'll mingle with bad crowd and make drugs._ '

"I'll stay with you, Dad," Eren answered with a tight smile.

Grisha Jaeger widened his eyes in surprise, he truly hadn't expected his son to answer that as they hadn't really spend much time together. His work as a head surgeon in the city best hospital didn't leave him with much free time and Carla had been the only one left to watch over Eren. However, his son had deliberately chosen to stay with him rather than with his uncle. And, while it was true that Carla's older brother hadn't really been present in Eren's childhood, it truly was heartwarming for Grisha to see that his son preferred him over his uncle.

"Don't worry, Eren," Grisha whispered as he tightened his hold on his son's frail shoulder. "I'll make sure that you won't regret your choice."

Eren nodded and his wide doe-like eyes blinked slowly. His father's thought had changed.

_'This man will create extremely adaptable transplants.'_

The little kid smiled brightly at his father. If listening to those thoughts would be enough to make them real, then he would do it.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

With time, Eren realized that not every thought with conditions would be easily done. Or wouldn't come with consequences.

His sudden new sister was the proof of it.

It had been during his last year of elementary school. Eren had been dilly-dandling with Armin, distractedly listening to the blond's excited chirps of this science guy's show when his teal eyes had landed on a dark figure in the back of their class. It was another boy, like them, but the perpetual dark shadow hanging around him had scared off any potential friendly kid from approaching him. Eren himself hadn't event tried, too busy with their teacher's thought.  
The man was destined for being an amazing comic designer but had abandoned all thoughts of ever becoming one because he was scared of being too poor to pay his bills. Thus, Eren had brainstormed during a whole semester on how he could change his teacher's mindset.

But the man wasn't here now and Eren wasn't really listening to Armin. The brunet thrummed lightly his fingers on his desk and suddenly was hit with the idea of discovering the grim kid's thought. Eren nodded to himself and with an apologizing grin to his friend, he stood up, scooping his crutches before he stumbled toward the gloomy kid's seat. The latter glared at him, his sharp grey eyes narrowing in anger while his lips tightened into a dark scowl.

If Eren hadn't been too busy trying to walk without stumbling over his own foot, he'd have been shocked by how scary the little boy's scowl was. But the brunet remained oblivious to that and finally got to the other boy's desk. He immediately sat on the chair in front of the boy's desk and leaned toward the latter, a wide and inviting grin on his face.

"Hello! I'm Eren," Eren greeted while using every ounce of charm and warmth he had.

It seemingly wasn't enough because the other kid glared even harder at him and his grey eyes narrowed into two hateful slits.

"What do you want from me," the boy growled.

"Huh?" Eren widened his eyes and finally got to look at the other boy's face.

Thin and pale lips, an oval face framed by long raven-like hair and finally those two hateful and scornful grey eyes.

But the apparent boy's dislike wasn't what had shocked Eren so much. His thought had been like a punch to his guts and he felt his chest constrict while his eyes widened in horror. Faint memories of screams and the blood running out of his injuries hovered in his shell-shocked mind and Eren gasped loudly.

_'If she isn't helped, this girl will kill herself.'_

"You can't do that!" Eren immediately blurted out, blinking rapidly his tears away.

"What?" the boy retorted with an angry frown.

_'If she isn't helped, this girl will...'_

"You can't do that!" the brunet repeated and he tightened his fist on his crutch. "You can't!"

The ruckus in the classroom suddenly quieted but Eren ignored him. His eyes were fixed on the boy who wasn't really a boy if he believed in his thought.

"Eren!" Armin, ever the good friend, was immediately by his side and softly pulled him by his sleeve. "Stop it, you know that he isn't like us!"

Eren frowned and watched how the boy who wasn't a girl, their face darkened when they heard that they weren't like Armin and him. However, while it was true that Eren wasn't as smart as Armin, he compensated with his instinct. And it was nagging him to help them above everything else.

Therefore, Eren shrugged off Armin's hold on his sleeve and stretched his hand toward the other child.

"Hello, I'm Eren," the brunet repeated with a stern look and a determined pout.

The grim kid ignored his hand with a huff and looked at the billboard.

"Okay," Eren hissed while he tried to ignore his anger. "If that's how you want to play, we'll play!"

And for the following week, Eren followed the kid everywhere, insistingly ignoring how his shoulder hurt from walking everywhere with his crutches and how every other kid in the elementary school looked at him as he had a death wish. The boy didn't really understand why everyone else was scared by the grim child but he simply shrugged it off. The latter did have a scary glare whenever they were angered by something. And it was true that pretty much everything annoyed them.

But was Eren was everything if not a coward. Thus he followed them everywhere and finally found out why their thought had been so bad.

From time to time, they hid in the lavatories and didn't go out during whole periods. With his special condition, Eren didn't really have to look for an excuse whenever he missed a class so the teachers had never really looked for him, thinking that he was probably resting his aching body in the infirmary. But the other kid's case was different. Eren had soon enough seen that their report was full of red grades from countless tests that they had failed to take as they had been in the toilets during them. However, no matter how many bad grades they got or how many times the teachers yelled at them, the child never stopped hiding in the toilets and it really intrigued Eren.

So much that he ended hiding himself in the toilet stall next to them.

He had expected everything, from smoking pot to vomiting. But not crying.

They had been heavy cries, no tears were involved and they didn't sniffle like every other kid would have. They just cried in heaving sobs that tore something in Eren's chest. When, after what had seemed like hours for Eren, the child stopped crying, the brunet decided to stop hiding and he softly rasped at the other kid's door.

"What do you want?" Their voice had been hoarser than habitual and Eren blinked away any tears that could have been in his eyes.

It would been a lie to say that he hadn't cried during those sobs.

Eren looked at the white face and their dull eyes. They weren't even red because Mike hadn't cried with tears. They probably didn't have any tear left in their body.

_'If she isn't helped, this girl will kill herself.'_

For the first time since he heard that thought, Eren actually thought about it and he widened his eyes when he realized what it truly meant.

"What are you doing here?" he asked and the kid glared at him. "This isn't the girl's room."

She blinked and suddenly there were tears shimming in her eyes. However, the kid quickly wiped them with her clothes and she glared at Eren.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" The girl hissed angrily.

"Why are you saying that?" Eren retorted while he tilted his head. "You do know that girls aren't supposed to be in the boy's lavatory, right?"

The child blinked and she nervously pushed back her long hair, letting Eren see her face. For the first time since she had been introduced in his class, the kid wasn't scowling and Eren found out that she was a really cute girl. He grinned at her and stretched his hand toward the other kid, clumsily fumbling on his good leg as he had lost his grip on his crutch.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Eren," he added cheerily before he pensively sucked on his lips and tilted his head again. "What's your name?"

"I'm..." She looked down and took a deep breath. "I'm Mikasa Ackerman."

"Nice to meet you, Mikasa!" Eren smiled brightly at the little girl and shook her hand with a small laugh.

Her thought had changed. But not enough.

"You know," the brunet added almost pensively. "My dad is a really smart, maybe he could help you out of your curse..."

"Curse?" Mikasa frowned at the little boy's strange phrasing and Eren gave her another bright smile.

"You know, the fairy tale curse you have!" he chirped happily. "I've seen it somewhere else! I'm sure that my dad is smart enough to know its counter-spell! So what do you think?"

Mikasa's eyes widened in surprise and Eren felt something warm and fuzzy settle in his stomach. Her thought had changed.

' _This girl will be a great athlete._ '

"What a great thing," Eren whispered to himself.

A sniffle followed his former question and soon enough, Eren's insisting stalking was rewarded by a new older sister figure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mikasa hadn't been the only deadly thought but she had been the only one that he had been able to effectively alter. The rest hadn't been as easy and sometimes, Eren had to lie down so he wouldn't break down in front of his friends or family.

Grisha had fulfilled his promise though and the brunet was soon rewarded by a new kind of prosthesis that made him able to walk without needing a rolling chair or crutches. Also, he helped the Ackerman, Mikasa's parents, when they were looking for a good doctor for her intake of hormones before her operation. Eren had always made sure to be with her whenever she had to meet with her doctor as she was incredibly shy for someone with such a threatening glare.

On another hand, it took Armin three other years before he found out about Eren's ability. But when he did, it took him two weeks before he stopped sulking and ignoring his best friend, one day before he stopped asking Eren if he had only befriended because of those predictions and mere hours until he ended hovering around his friend to ask him how this strange ability worked.

"You can't keep calling it thoughts, Eren," Armin finally announced with an annoyed pout (because Eren's answer were too vague for him). "They aren't thoughts because you have no real power over them."

"Then how should I call them?" asked the brunet with a shrug.

It didn't matter how he called them, they would still happen and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

"How about," Armin nibbled on his pen and Mikasa frowned when she saw it. She had already told him to stop doing that as he had ended more than a few times with ink all over his teeth.

"Armin," she interrupted the blond's brainstorming with her soft voice.

Even if her hormones had stopped her voice in deepening like boys, she still thought that she had a voice way too deep for a girl, even if Armin and Eren always told her that it wasn't true.

"What?" Armin blinked and immediately noticed what had happened with an annoyed scowl. "Come on! This was my favorite pen!"

Eren snickered and he stretched on his bed, his foot scratching idly at his prosthesis joint while he looked dreamily at his best friends. Mikasa was hovering around Armin who was still fussing over the black ink covering his lips and teeth. The two youths turned toward the brunet and they both smiled at him.

"So what's my future, _o great seer_?" Armin asked while he flopped down on Eren's bed, making the latter grimace when the blond stumbled over him.

"Get off, you Einstein wannabe!" the brunet growled as he tried to push away his best friend.

But as he had only an arm to do so, Armin merely batted his hand away and gave a wide smirk to his friend.

"So I'm the future Einstein?" the blond's smirk widened and he began to cackle evilly. "Wait until I show those idiots back in school how smart I really am!"

Eren rolled his eyes and stretched his hand toward Mikasa with a pleading face.

"Mika! Please!" he begged while wriggling under Armin.

The young girl rolled her eyes and stood up with a sigh before she swiftly pushed Armin away from Eren and she sat between the two boys.

"What about me?" she asked with her soft voice.

"A beautiful athlete," Eren grinned from his spot on the bed and sighed happily.

"You know," Armin chirped after a little while during which he tried to get the ink off his mouth. "You should become some kind of life adviser. If your predictions are never off, you could get some money out of that..."

"I don't want money though," Eren furrowed his brows before he shrugged. "I could always charge them with a ridicule amount of money."

"Like what?" Mikasa softly inquired while she brushed her bangs away from her forehead.

"Fifty would be more than enough," the brunet grinned at her and he stretched his limbs with a contented sigh.

"Fifty millions?" Armin gasped from his spot behind the dark haired girl.

"What?" Eren was startled out of his contented daze and he looked at the blond in confusion. "Why would I ask so much? Fifty cents would be more than enough!"

"That's what you say now," the blond commented with a huff. "Wait until you're adult..."

"Believe me, Armin," the brunet announced with a decided face. "This will never change..."

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

"This will be three hundred," Eren droned out while he stretched his hand toward his customer.

"But it was cheaper last week!" the man whined while he, despite his words, fished out his wallet.

"Well, tell that to the university board," the brown haired young man shrugged while he pocketed the money in his over-sized hoodie.

Eren glanced for the last time at the man's face and gave him a smile.

"Don't worry," he assured him with a small wink. "You won't need me after this one."

The man's face lightened and he brightly grinned at the young college student, ignoring how weird it could look to any bystanders if they were to see him acting so happily after giving his money to some kid without even getting something else back.

' _This man will realize his dream after going to buy the_  Big Ass Flowers Everyday _shop in the main street of the XXX city_.'

Such a clear and precise prediction.

But as always since he had passed his eighteenth birthday, it didn't surprise him anymore. Even if sometimes Armin would point out that his ability didn't tend to be so precise weeks ago. It seemed to get accurately precise as time passed by and Eren wondered sometimes if he would end seeing the future like some kind of oracle. He surely hoped that it didn't because he didn't want to be the head of some kind of weird cult. Even if Armin would be pleased to be the cult leader, the boy was way too cunning for his own good.

Eren shook his head to stop thinking about Armin's greedy smile whenever they talked of founding a new cult, and glanced back at his customer. The man had some kind of constipated face with a heavy frown and his brown hair buzzed on the back while the front flopped over his forehead. But Eren didn't let the man's threatening glare faze him as he had been met with worse in his childhood. Mikasa was one scary woman whenever she got angry. That's all he had to say.

"You should buy the  _Big Ass Flowers Everyday_  shop," the brunet finally said before he yawned loudly. "Sorry about that. What was I saying?"

"Buying a shop," the man answered him eagerly.

"Right," Eren nodded before he glanced back at the man's face. The prediction hadn't changed. "The  _Big Ass Flowers Everyday_ , remember that name. If you do that, you'll be really surprised."

The man grinned almost childishly at this and he literally pranced away from the dirty back street that Eren used for his little deals.

The college student sighed heavily once the man left and he shook his head softly. Sometimes, juggling both his studies and his advising job were a bit too heavy for him, even if his work as a life adviser didn't ask too much of him. He just had to look at the client and he immediately knew what he had to say.

But it was just his luck that being a college student also meant unending and extremely pricey books to read. And even if his father was a well known doctor in the word, Eren didn't want to disturb the poor man from his early and deserved retirement for petty money. Therefore, his 'advising work' as Armin had humorously named it.

Eren felt his phone buzz in his pocket and he sighed another time before he took it.

"Yeah?" he answered before yawning heavily and he felt tears prickle at the corner of his eyes when it ended.

"Eren," Mikasa's confident voice came out of the phone and Eren blinked his tears and tiredness away.

Hearing his sister's voice always woke him up. Mostly since she had left the city to get in a famous university for her female volleyball team.

"Mikasa!" the brunet greeted happily while he leaned against the damp wall with a small shiver. He sincerely hoped that his prosthesis wouldn't get damp though. It always hurt a bit whenever it got too humid or cold. "How are you? Wait, why did you call? Did some idiot bully you? Do I need to go over and teach him some manners?"

"Like you'd ever need to do that," Mikasa huffed lightly before she heartily spoke to him. "I just wanted to talk to you, Eren."

"I can understand why," the boy nodded to himself and he slightly shuffled on his better leg, stretching his prosthesis one so it would end away from the cold and damp wall. "Is your debut match tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Then you better kick some ass because I'll be there to make sure of it!" Eren grinned and he could perfectly picture his sister widening her eyes in surprise and warm smile at his words.

"Thanks," she told him but it was enough to convey her happiness.

"Everything for my favorite sister!" Eren assured while he decided to walk toward the busy shopping street.

"I'm your only sister," Mikasa deadpanned, causing her brother's amused snort.

"That must be why," the boy added before he cheerily walked in the shopping street. He swiftly avoided colliding with one of the shoppers, absentmindedly looking at their face, and continued talking his sister while assuring her that he would indeed be there to see her first match.

"But won't the ticket be too much for you?" the young woman asked him with an audible worry in her soft voice.

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Eren bragged while he patted his hoodie front pocket. "I've got everything covered!"

"You overcharged one of your customers, right?" Mikasa stated.

The brunet flinched and he began to whistle happily while ignoring his sister's increasing tone.

"Oh, look at the time," he announced nervously while he walked the stairs to his apartment. "I've got to go, bye Mikasa!"

"Wait, Eren!"

The college student promptly ended the call and he fell in a heap of limbs and prosthesis over his couch, ignoring the blue eyes staring intensively at his back.

"What do you want, Armin," the brunet groaned without moving from his spot.

"How did it go?" the blond asked while he closed his book and folded his reading glasses before he put them on top of his book.

"As always, it was like it was handed on a damn silver plate," Eren moaned with his eyes closed. "I just had to look at his hopeful face and there it was! It even had the address and everything."

"Even the address?" Armin inquired with a pensive look.

"Yeah," the brunet nodded before he looked up at his friend. "I did give him the name though because it would be just... bad to keep lying to him."

"I understand," his friend smiled at him and went back to his room to fetch his notebook.

As always when Eren's abilities were concerned, Armin would write it down and then think over it until he found out some kind of theory about it and ask Eren to test it right away. Like with his latest customer, they had observed his prediction and then waited for a whole week to see if there would be any difference. And there had been.

Eren was now able to precisely pinpoint locations and names.

"I'll go see Mikasa's match tomorrow, do you want to come?" Eren mumbled from his spot on the couch.

"I've got a big test tomorrow, sorry," the blond immediately answered with a sorry smile. "But tell her that I'd have loved to watch her play!"

"Will do," hummed the brunet.

It took him two hours before he even found the strength to come out of his couch, but Eren finally stood up and stumbled to his bedroom while scratching his prosthesis joint on his arm. However, he was prompt to wake up when he found out that something really important was missing from his persona.

"ARMIN! I LOST THE MONEY!"

"Oh god, not again," the blond muttered while he face-palmed.

He pushed away his books, knowing that he wouldn't get any study done until his friend found his money back, and joined the brunet in his bedroom. Eren was kneeling on the floor, his hoodie laying in front of him while he sniffed angrily and rubbed his tearing eyes with the back of his hand.

"I swear to god that I had the money when I got out of the street!" the brunet told him as soon as he saw him.

Armin furrowed his brows and remembered the news of increasing pickpockets in town with a dreary sigh.

"Maybe someone stole it?" he asked before he cringed when he heard Eren punch the floor with his good hand.

"If I ever catch that fucker, I'm going to make him regret ever meeting me! I'll fucking undo whatever prediction he has!" the brunet cursed out loud before he took a deep breath and flopped down on the floor, his eyes closed and his breath even.

Armin frowned and clicked his tongue. While he knew that his friend tended to get asleep whenever he was tired, this was way too sudden for Eren. He had to write that down in his journal. But before that, he had to put his friend in his bed. The blond sighed heavily and began by taking off the brunet's prosthesis as he didn't want him to suffer from aching joints the following morning. Once he had put away the arm as well as leg in their respective places, Armin took his friends by his armpits and with a heaving breath put him in his bed. Once he was sure that Eren was correctly tucked in his bed, the blond went back to their common room and sighed another time before he went to look in their piggy bank.

Thanks to Eren's accounting work and his own work in repairing computers, they always had a nice amount of money if there ever was the need of. And Armin felt that this was one of those time.

"But it's strange," the blond mused in a soft voice. "How could someone get past Eren's eyes..."

With the brunet's strange ability, it was extremely difficult to ever surprise him and it seriously intrigued Armin to know how that pickpocket had done it.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

The next day found Eren stumbling in the train station with bleary eyes and, thanks to Armin, his stumps not aching after a night free from his prosthesis. The brunet swiftly payed his ticket fare and wandered in the station until he found his train and took a place in the first wagon he got in. He pretty much ignored the man sitting in front of him and decided to go back to sleep as he didn't get much sleep the night before, thanks to that evil pickpocket.

But he soon woke up from a hand ruthlessly shaking him by his shoulder. Eren clumsily tried to bat it away and blinked blearily when he realized that he had the face of a stranger way too close to his eyes for his taste.

But the college student quickly forgot about that when he noticed something.

He knew that stranger's face. Mostly because he had almost collided against him the day before when he had been chatting with Mikasa. And it was the suspect number one for that hated pickpocket's identity.

" _ **You**_ ," Eren growled angrily while he furrowed his brows and searched for a good insult.

"Do I know you?" the stranger frowned and seemed to remember something because he scoffed and stepped back. "You should show your ticket, kid."

Eren blinked and glanced around him. Seems like the stranger was only waking him up because the controller was here. The brunet reluctantly stopped glaring at the stranger and showed his ticket to the man before he went back to plot on the stranger's demise.

The latter ignored him, gazing with a disinterested face at the clouds and passing pastures by the window.

But, as Eren had never been one to hold grudges over anyone, the brunet soon enough became bored of hating the stranger and he shuffled on the uncomfortable seat, stretching and then crossing his legs before redoing it once again.

"Would you fucking stop doing that!" the stranger ended hissing angrily.

"What?" the brunet cocked his head and stretched his legs once again. "This?"

"Yes!" the other man growled as he raised his head to glare at the younger male.

The latter spluttered in surprise and he almost fell from his seat. The man raised his eyebrows when he saw the college student have something along to a panic attack and he slowly rose from his seat, his hands slightly stretched toward the brunet yet he didn't move to touch the latter.

"Hey, are you..." the stranger began before he cut himself and shook his head. "Like he's able to answer you," he grumbled to himself before he sat next to the brunet and shook him by his shoulders. "Get a hold of yourself, kid."

Eren blinked and suddenly realized that he hadn't been breathing for the past three minutes.

"Oh my god!" the younger man took a deep breath and almost spluttered again when he saw that the stranger was now sitting next to him. "Oh my god," he repeated like a broken recorder.

"I'm called Levi though," the stranger deadpanned.

That was enough to cut through Eren's panicked state and the brunet blinked slowly.

"That was probably the worst joke ever made," he stated without any hesitation.

"But it did stop you from freaking out," Levi shrugged it off like being told his humor was shit was a habitual occurrence (and maybe it was). "Levi Ackerman."

"Eren Jaeger," the brunet answered on auto-pilot, his eyes still shyly glancing at the stranger's face whenever he thought the other wouldn't see him.

And here it was, the horrible prediction that Eren hadn't expected at all. Even with his seemingly seer-like powers.

_'If this man doesn't marry Eren Jaeger, the world will end.'_

"Well, I'd like to say that it was nice meeting you, Eren Jaeger," Levi commented while Eren still looked at him with horrified eyes. "But it would be lying because that was without doubt the shittiest meeting I've ever had..."

"Right back at you," the brunet muttered while he decided to avoid looking at Levi's face ever again.

What he couldn't see, couldn't hurt him, right?  
But the ' _world will end_ ' part continued haunting him until Eren couldn't deal with it anymore.

"Say, Levi," Eren ended saying once the silence of their compartment became too heavy for him.

The man stopped looking at the window and glanced at the college student with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you want?"

And here it was. Eren simply didn't have any idea on how he could break it in to the man.

' _I'm your future husband. And if you ever refuse this, you have to know that the world will end if we don't get married. You're not gay? How nice, me neither!'_

Right, he couldn't.

So he grasped the flimsiest possible subject and glued a charming smile on his lips (Mikasa had told him that this one could make girls swoon if he ever decided to use it to charm someone) before he blurted the first thing that passed through his mind.

"Could you perhaps be related to Mikasa Ackerman?"

"Yes," Levi answered while his face darkened slightly.

Thinking that his smile didn't work on the man, Eren increased its brightness and almost jumped in fright on his seat when he saw the man's look down with a frown.

"Could you be his cousin?" the college student asked before he pensively frowned. "Wait, she never told me that she had a cousin..."

"I'm her uncle," Levi reluctantly told him before folding his arms over his chest.

Eren glanced at his arms and felt his throat tighten when he saw that the sleeves of Levi's shirt had been slightly pushed and that he could clearly see the man's wrist now. Or rather, the tattoo on it.  
Levi caught sight of the brunet's insisting gaze and he swiftly covered his wrist with his hand before he glared at the young man.

"You didn't see shit, brat," the stranger hissed angrily.

Eren nodded silently and copied the other man by watching the clouds.

 _'Oh my god,'_  Eren thought as he tried to stay sane under Levi's glaring eyes. ' _My future husband has a secret tattoo.'_

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

It was a really long ride and what made it even longer was probably the nervousness exuding by each and every pore of Eren's body. But who would hold it against him when he was against Mikasa's uncle?

But after a whole hour, even the terrible and scary looking man did have enough of that tense silence and he ended sighing heavily before he looked at Eren's nervous face.

"You," the adult began before he furrowed his brows and glanced back at the brunet. "Eren, right?"

"Yes, sir!" the boy yipped nervously.

Levi tilted his head and seemed to remember something because his eyes suddenly focused on Eren's arms.

"Mikasa has told me about you," the dark haired man commented in a soft voice. "Did you really stalk her until she told her what was wrong with her?"

Of all the stories that Eren had expected to hear from the stranger's mouth, he truly hadn't expected that one.

"I didn't stalk her!" he protested with an embarrassed blush. "I just perseveringly followed her until she finally accepted to talk to me!"

"You even followed her in the toilets," Levi added with an amused glint in his grey eyes so similar to Mikasa's.

"I was worried about her well-being!" Eren insisted while his blush flushed all over his face and even neck.

Levi chuckled softly and cocked his head, some strands of his dark hair falling over his eyes as he did so.

"Don't shit yourself, kid," the man shook his head and smirked at the frazzled student. "I was just kidding you..."

Eren spluttered and gasped while he tried to understand how this thuggish-looking man could be even kidding him when his whole face only conveyed boredom to the whole world.

"From what I've heard of her stories, you seem like a good kid," Levi drawled and that caused an immediate flush over Eren's whole face.

"Oh god, not you too," the brunet moaned while he hid his face behind his hands.

"Not bad," the adult chuckled, provoking yet another blush on Eren's face. "Careful there, though. I wouldn't want to see you die from too much blood in your head."

"Like that could ever happen," the brunet commented while he rolled his eyes.

"Don't sass me," Levi chided him with a stern glare and the college student shrunk on his seat. Levi's playful (if that man could ever be playful) glares were way worse than Mikasa's deathly glare.

"Yes, sir!"

"Stop calling me sir, I'm not that old."

"Yes, Levi!"

"Don't call me that familiarly, we're not friends."

"Yes, uh... Mister Ackerman!"

Levi sighed heavily and rubbed tiredly his eyelids.

"You know what," he muttered almost to himself. "Call me whatever you want."

And Eren, being the cheeky little brat he had always been, saw the opportunity and seized it with no regrets.

"Yes hubby!"

And just like that, the world ended. At least, it seemed like it did end for Eren as Levi's extremely annoyed glare was so fear inducing that the brunet felt his heart miss a beat.

"Don't ever call me that again!" the dark haired man hissed threateningly at the student.

"Yessir!"

Levi sighed heavily and went back to his cloud watching with a muttered " _What did I ever do to deserve this_ " while Eren slumped on his seat with a relieved sigh.

And those two were supposed to get married.

 **Days until the end of the world:** _800_ _days_.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren is a brat and really sucks at flirting. That's it, that's the chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Levi's character in this chapter is so weird. Could he please stop blowing hot and cold on poor and innocent Eren? No? 
> 
> Also, this chapter is far from being beta-read and I'm pretty sure that English isn't my first language. Nor second. Why am I even writing in English...

Eren breathed loudly through his gritted teeth and tried to ignore the damn persisting gaze burning holes in his back. He nervously shuffled on his good leg and stretched the other one, his eyes quickly glancing at the two puny staircase steps. In any other given situation, Eren would have just jumped from the train and walked merrily to the nearest bus stop. Key words being in any other given situation.

Because with his probable future husband glaring at his back, even acting like he used to was something impossible for the brunet.

Eren sighed heavily and glanced at the little girl waiting for him to get off the train so she could get in. She didn't have really striking features but the college student didn't really care about it. His eyes slightly widened when he heard the habitual whisper of the little girl's prediction and Eren cocked his head, a sudden idea budding in his mind while he happily smiled at the kid. The little girl furrowed her brows, intrigued by the older guy's sudden change of mood and Eren jumped away from the annoyed man standing behind him so he could kneel on the platform, his stump lancing with a searing pain when his knee touched the ground. However, the brunet didn't let his pain show on his face and he continued smiling at the little girl.

"Did you know that EpiPens can save lives?" Eren told her with a wink before he stood up.

He glanced at the train and sighed in relief. His little stunt had taken enough time to make the man, Levi, leave without him. Good, now Eren would finally be able to call Armin and freak out about his prediction. And freak out he would.  
What was that kind of prediction? While it was true that Eren had seen quite his fair share of weird things in his short life, the brunet had never seen (or rather heard) a prediction like that. It had also been the first time that he had been directly concerned. And that was weird.

Eren sighed and he rubbed tiredly his face, he could already hear Armin's hushed but excited voice talking animatedly about his powers and on how they seemed to always escape any logic. Whenever the blond went into one of his rants, any innocent bystander would be roped into his monologue and would have to suffer through it. And Armin could talk, don't ever let his frail body deceive you. The boy was a passionate talker if he wanted to tell or explain something that he truly loved. And, seemingly, Eren's abilities went into that selection. The blond had even begun writing in a notebook that he had named the Eren's book (and sometimes even Ebook).

God, it totally sounded like some kind of chick-flick that Mikasa loved to watch so much.

The brunet sighed another time and he straightened his back before he began to walk toward the exit of the station, a slight limp in his steps. The young man ended wandering outside of the train station and he glanced around him with wide eyes, looking everywhere for a bus stop or even a bench. His left leg was already aching and Eren was regretting his earlier stunt, even if it had succeeded on making Levi stop hovering behind him. But well, the brunet had never been someone who could deal with pressure. Or at least, not that kind.

Eren limped toward the first public bench he saw and he let himself fall on it with a heavy sigh. The boy stretched his legs and grimaced when he felt that his prosthesis joint wasn't correctly placed anymore. He quickly straightened it without taking his clothes off (he didn't want another fine for public indecency. It had happened once and Eren didn't want at all to end with that kind of reputation) and leaned back with another sigh. He shook his left leg and clicked his tongue in relief when he noticed that the joint wasn't hurting him anymore.

Well, now the only thing left was to find a bus going to Mikasa's university and he would be all set.  
Knowing that he still had two hours left, Eren decided to appreciate the nice weather and he closed his eyes while he listened to the bustling city life around him. And because he was sitting in a public bench in the middle of a train station, the boy wasn't really surprised when someone sat next to him. He merely creaked an eye open to glance at his sudden neighbor and almost choked on his spit when he saw the familiar undercut and cold eyes. The other merely rolled his eyes and crossed his legs before he leaned back on the bench and put his arms over the railing.

Seconds passed during which no one spoke.

And as time passed, the tension grew until it became too much for Eren's frazzled nerves.

"Uh," he licked nervously his lips and glanced at the man sitting by his side. The latter had his head leaning over the railing and was cloud watching with his seemingly permanent bored face. "Hello again?"

"You suck at this," Levi stated plainly without even looking at the brunet.

Eren rolled his eyes and ignored the ever growing anger. Ever since he had met Levi, the extremely familiar emotion had been building in the pit of his stomach but the college student refused to let it get the better of him. He was going to show Levi who was the real adult between the two of them.

"It's not like you're a welcoming piece of sunshine either," Eren scowled before he quickly shook his head and feigned disinterest.

Being too hostile with his future husband wouldn't do. Not when the world depended on it.

"Like you're better," Levi commented and his grey eyes briefly glanced at Eren's angrily blushing face. "You're just a kid throwing temper-tantrums."

Eren took a deep breath and counted to three, remembering those past sessions with Armin where the blond had tried to teach him how to deal with his anger problems. Now seemed to be the perfect time to see if Armin's teaching did work.

The brunet let out his breath slowly while he deliberately looked in front of him, ignoring Levi's piercing eyes, and slowly furrowed his brows.

He had seen something in the mass of bystanders. Something that he hadn't liked at all. His eyes widened in shock while adrenalin began to run in his veins, making him forget about his aching leg. He quickly scanned the crowd, looking for the face who had caused such alarm from him and immediately jumped to his feet when he saw the person power-walking to the subway entrance.

Eren began to run, his legs stretching without complaining and he quickly caught up with his prey, his heart pumping madly while he tried to keep his breath even.

"Hey!" he called without caring about the fact that he was calling a young woman that he didn't know at all. "The woman with the white hoodie!"

His target froze for a millisecond and she quickly glanced at him, letting the brunet see her pale face, framed by blond hair and with cold blue eyes and a prominent nose. She did stop though and Eren was glad for it because he could hear his heartbeat in his ears and he was gasping like a fish out of the water.

"Thanks!" he panted once he caught up with her.

The boy leaned over, his hands over his knees and took a deep breath while he tried to settle down his breath. Meanwhile, the young woman gazed coldly at him and Eren clearly felt how she was eyeing him as a possible enemy.

"I'm Eren," the brunet announced without moving from his spot. "And who you're looking for is in the Hospital Maria, third floor, room 45."

The woman's pale blue eyes widened in surprise and she briefly lost her composure.

"How can you know," she whispered in a shell-shocked voice. But she quickly regained her spirits and suddenly glared at Eren. "I don't know who told you to tell me that but if I ever find out that you lied to me, I'll..."

"It isn't a lie!" the brunet protested with a frown. "I don't lie, I would gain nothing from lying. Seriously, though. You should check that room, it'll change your life."

Eren cocked his head, his eyes glancing back to the woman's face and he nodded to himself with a decided expression.

"Yes," he added while giving a bright smile to the blonde. "It'll really change your life for good. Believe me, please."

The woman gave him another suspicious look before she took a small step back and furrowed her brows. "I guess it couldn't hurt me to check it," she muttered to herself before looking back at the brunet.

"Who are you?" she asked and it made Eren smile brightly at her.

"I'm Eren, life adviser extraordinaire!" he chirped happily. "And you?"

The blonde frowned and eyed the brunet once again.

"How can you ignore that if you know who I'm looking for?" she inquired with a voice heavily laced with suspicion.

"That's the extraordinaire part," Eren assured without missing a beat. "I'm the best at giving advices! If you ever need help, you can always go and ask me, my fees aren't that high, er..."

"Annie," the woman quickly precised before she sighed. Her blue eyes softened a bit and she nodded almost to herself. "Eren, right?"

The brunet nodded and waited for her to continue talking. He could feel that she had a lot in her mind that she wanted to ask him. But before she could even ask him something, Eren felt an arm slither over his shoulders and suddenly lock around his neck.

"There you were, brat," the now familiar voice whispered into the brunet's ear.

"L-Levi?" Eren spluttered in surprise. And he had been truly surprised by Levi's sudden appearance.

With his seer-like ability, it was almost impossible to surprise him because he could hear people's predictions if they were close enough to him. Or rather, he could hear their hushed whispers and buzzed words that only became clear if he looked at the person's face. Furthermore, every prediction was given in a different voice and tone so it gave Eren the opportunity to know whoever wanted to creep on him. It also helped whenever someone had decided to stalk him after yet another successful advising job so Eren couldn't really complain about the unending ruckus around him.

Yet he hadn't noticed Levi's prediction.

And now that he actually payed attention to his surroundings, Eren noticed that since Levi had locked his arm around his neck, he hadn't been able to hear the habitual buzz of faint predictions hanging around him. Of course, the noise of the crowd bustling around him and the subway ruckus was still echoing in the brightly illuminated subway tunnel, it actually explained why Eren hadn't noticed immediately the disappearance of the now habitual cacophony of predictions around him.

Would that also mean that he had lost his powers?

Eren perked at that thought and he slightly furrowed his brows while he glanced at Annie's face from Levi's headlock, his wide eyes shimmering with relief and some kind of regret when he clearly heard her prediction.

_'This girl has to meet the man laying in Hospital Shiganshina's room 45, third floor, if she wants to move on.'_

There it was. The prediction hadn't changed but Eren knew that, once Annie did visit the man, it would change to something way better. After all, that's what had happened with Mikasa.

"Yes, me," Levi scowled while he tightened his headlock, making Eren wince at the increasing pressure around his neck. "What the fuck happened there, brat? You suddenly ran like you were shitting yourself and then you're here. Is this your friend?"

"Uh?" Eren blinked and then glanced at Annie.

The woman was scowling at the sudden interruption of their discussion, and she softly scoffed before she looked at the brunet.

"How can I join you?" she asked him coldly, her blue eyes glaring daggers at Levi in the meanwhile.

"Oh, right," Eren frowned a bit before he shrugged, the motion being actually quite difficult when one was in a headlock. "I don't live in this city so... You can always join Mikasa Ackerman, she's my sister."

"Mikasa Ackerman, got it," Annie acquiesced and then turned her heels before she walked away.

Levi watched her leave with dark eyes, his face twisted into a disapproving frown that soon enough went back to his eternal bored expression when he felt Eren twist into his headlock.

"What is it, Eren?" he drawled with a slight spark of mirth when he caught the brunet pouting at him.

"What does it look like,  _Levi~_ ," the latter hissed while exaggerating the lilting in his voice when he said the dark haired man's name. "I need to take a shit so it'd be better if you let me go..."

Levi grimaced in disgust and let the college student go, ignoring the boy's pout while he dusted himself for any germs that the brunet could have left on his coat. But he was soon enough reassured that his clothes were pristine clean, and the older man glanced back at the brunet. The latter was still pouting (in what was seemingly the boy's better scowl) and muttering things to himself that Levi didn't want to know.

"You better make it quick," the dark haired man commented while he raked his fingers through his hair and pushed back the strands that had fallen over his forehead.

"What?" Eren cocked his head and blinked like some kind of lost puppy.

"Goddammit, do I have to fucking explain everything to you?" Levi muttered while he kneaded his forehead with two fingers. "You!" the man pointed his finger to Eren's chest, making the latter blink in surprise. "Better take your shit quickly. There you have it."

Eren blinked another time, slowly realizing what the other man had been telling him before he began to laugh loudly.

"Oh my god!" he cried as he almost fell over, tears of laughter running freely over his face. "You actually believed that?"

Levi frowned at the sudden burst of laughter from the youth and scoffed when he noticed that the boy was wiping down tears and sniffing loudly. How unhygienic. His apparent disgust had to be quite obvious because the younger man suddenly stopped laughing and quickly straightened his back, wiping his tearful eyes with another sniffle.

"Sorry about that," the brunet apologized with a nervous little laugh. "I just didn't expect you to take that joke so seriously..."

Levi nodded and began to tap his foot on the dirty tiles of the subway underground. He was clearly waiting for something but Eren couldn't see what. Until he actually wondered over something that should actually been evident to him.

"Wait a minute," the college student muttered. "Why did you follow me?"

"About time," Levi rolled his eyes and groaned something under his breath before he looked back at the younger man. "I've no idea where Mikasa's match is so I thought that following you would be a good idea. It is now clear to me that it wasn't..."

"Oh, come on!" Eren protested while he raised his hands to the sky (or rather ceiling). "You just had to ask, you know?! Follow me, we just have to take a bus and then we'll be there..."

"A bus," the other repeated with a disgusted scowl.

"Yes, the bus," the brunet imitated and he deepened his voice to copy Levi's pleasant baritone. "What? Are you scared from a little ride in the big bad bus?"

"Shut up, brat," the dark haired man deadpanned.

And because Eren actually liked living, he followed Levi's advice and began walking toward the nearest bus stop.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

When they finally arrived at the gymnasium where Mikasa's match would be held, Eren was a mere heap of shuddering limbs and sweaty hands. Mostly because Levi was the scariest being he had ever seen in his short life. And that a Levi who had been pissed off by the obvious lack of hygiene in the public transports was way scarier than any horror movie nowadays.   
Really.

And this also explained why Eren stumbled over nothing when he got out of the bus and fell right on his face, giving quite a nice show of his bottom to his future husband while he did so, as the latter was behind him when he had slipped (over nothing, way to go, Eren). The dark haired man didn't comment on Eren's obvious clumsiness and just stood by the boy's side while the latter tried to ignore his blushing face and aching joints (he had tried to cushion his fall with his hands and his right arm's prosthesis hadn't appreciated it). However, when it became obvious that Eren wouldn't get up, the other man furrowed his brows and crouched with a threatening scowl on his pale face.

It actually reminded Eren of Mikasa's face back in elementary school.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Levi asked with his habitual deadpan voice.

The tone was enough to relax Eren's poor and tense body. If Levi was still using his lifeless voice, it meant that he wasn't that annoyed with him and that was good for the brunet. The man was supposed to become his husband after all.

But it didn't meant that Eren was happy to show his worst side to a stranger (even if the man was Mikasa's uncle, he was still a stranger to him).

 _'Shove it, Jaeger,_ ' Eren thought grimly before he glanced at Levi's dark and threatening scowl. ' _He's supposed to be your future husband. One of these days, he'll have to learn it..._ '

And today was as good as any other.

The college student sighed from his spot on the ground and he nodded to himself, his eyes brimming with self-confidence before he looked once again at the adult.

"I can't get up," Eren admitted with an unwavering voice.

"You can't get up?" Levi repeated with a quick glance at the boy's legs and then at his face. "Bullshit, nothing seems broken."

Of course, Eren had to fall on this kind of guy. The brunet closed his eyes and took a deep breath, counted to three and then recited the alphabet before he opened his eyes and glared at the other man. Armin's lessons didn't work at all whenever Levi was concerned, Eren would have to tell the blond. But for now, the brunet had to deal with some extremely hardheaded guy who couldn't grasp any hint until it was shoved under his nose.

"Can't believe it," the college student muttered to himself before he tried once again to stand up.

But the all too familiar sting of his stumps quickly reminded him that falling like that after having an unplanned run wasn't that good of an idea so Eren stopped trying and braced himself for another meeting with the cold and hard ground. And he wasn't disappointed because it was indeed cold. But that was mostly the weather and the brunet slowly opened his eyes to notice that his face was hovering at mere inches from the ground and that he had his right arm raised since Levi had been holding it.

Oh. Bad idea.

"Let it go!" Eren thrashed around and he was quickly rewarded by Levi letting go of his arm. The brunet immediately shielded his limb with his other arm and discreetly checked if his joint was still holding. It was, though barely. But it wasn't as if Eren would take his shirt and jacket off just so he could check it out. After all, he was in front of a famous university campus. With his future husband glaring at him.

Right.

Eren cleared nervously his throat and slowly got on his knees, hiding a pained grimace under an annoyed expression while he carefully stretched his left hand toward Mikasa's uncle.

"Sorry about that," the brunet apologized reluctantly without looking at the adult. "Could you help me get up, though?"

Levi sighed heavily and Eren braced himself for a refusal, already looking for another person who could help him. But the dark haired man surprised him by harshly taking his hand and suddenly pulling the college student on his feet. The latter almost stumbled after the sudden action but he quickly got his balance back. The brunet sighed in relief and slightly flexed his knees, checking if his right leg's prosthesis would hold on. Luckily for him, it did.

Eren smiled happily at that simple fact and he finally looked at Levi, his eyes sparkling with glee while he walked with an almost unnoticeable limp toward the gymnasium door.

"What are you waiting for, old man?" Eren taunted and he had to quicken his stride when he saw Levi scowl at him and walk toward him with a threatening face.

So his future husband didn't appreciate jabs at his evident old age. If Eren ever survived Levi's retaliation, he'd write it down. Who knows, maybe he would even begin a 'Levi's book' like Armin did with him.

But in the meantime, Eren would run for his life because his future husband was an irascible midget who seemed to want to see him meet his fist. Repetitively. And this is why the boy frayed his way around the crowd, pushing some people without any remorse as he could hear his pursuer's annoyed growls. Adrenalin began to kick in and Eren flew in the building, going up the stairs without even noticing the strain in his leg, and ran as if his life depended on it. He quickly glanced behind him to see where was Levi and felt a tinge of something (was it terror, pure fear or something else? He didn't know) flutter in his chest. Noticing that his taller stature would be a dead giveaway in his escape from Levi's wrath, the boy decided to hide behind one of the orange plastic seats and he almost crawled under one of the rare that he had deemed clean enough to hide behind. Seriously, those seats were nasty.

Eren leaned his back against the seat and crouched, his lips thinned in concentration while he tried to pinpoint where Levi could be in the gymnasium. What a pity that his prediction was a perpetual whisper in the back of his mind because the brunet would have loved to use it as some kind of radar. Nonetheless, he stayed put and tensed when he heard the wooden floor creak near his hiding place. Eren widened his eyes and bolted out of there, a shocked expression on his face when he saw that Levi was indeed standing near him and that his face was the perfect depiction of death.

A whole minute passed by and nobody dared to move. Until Levi's scowl deepened and he suddenly twisted on his right leg while he used the other one to kick Eren in his stomach. Luckily for the college boy's organs, the black haired man's moves had been slightly restrained by the surrounding plastic chairs and Levi's boot only grazed Eren's sweater in place of making him say goodbye to his stomach.

Strangely though, the brunet began to laugh like an overexcited kid when he saw the older man rush to kick his head. He fell without any grace on a plastic seat because he'd been laughing so much that he hadn't been able to correctly breathe during the extremely short pursuit. And it was in this poor state of mind that Eren heard the now familiar clicks of the dark haired man's shoes on the stadium's floor. The brunet tried his best to smother any giggle but it was all for naught and once he saw Levi's pissed off face, the boy began to laugh out loud once again.

"Oh my god," Eren wheezed while he wiped the tears of laughter with the back of his hand. "I can't believe you actually chased me! What are you, five?"

"Like you're any better," Levi retorted with an eye-roll. "You were giggling like a little kid."

"Guilty as charged," the brunet admitted with an unabashed smile.

He shrugged any remaining nervousness caused by Levi's presence around him, and the college student suddenly realized that he had been playing a game of hide and seek with Mikasa's scary uncle. And, as strange as this may sound, he had loved every second of it.

"So, when does this shi... match begin?" Levi asked while he stood next to Eren's crumpled form.

The younger man glanced at him and then at his watch.

"In an hour," he answered with another shrug. "I guess that this is it, it was a pleasure to meet you, Levi."

The adult frowned at the brunet's words and folded his arms on his chest.

"And why the hell are you implying that I'm leaving?" he asked with a perceptible growing annoyance in his voice.

Eren blinked, his attention having been momentarily captivated by an onlooker's prediction. It took him some time to piece back together Levi's words and when he finally understood them, the boy gasped in surprise.

"But didn't you say that you only followed me because you didn't know where the gym was," the brunet protested weakly.

And to be honest, he didn't really see why he should be against Levi spending more time with him. After all, they were meant to get married the earlier possible. Right. And that thought wasn't supposed to cause such horror in his chest, that man was his future husband, not his future killer...

"And?" Levi raised a brow and clicked his tongue. "It didn't mean that I'd leave you without a thanks. I'm not that rude."

"At least, you admit it," Eren muttered before he realized that his mutters hadn't been really that soft and that the other man had heard him.

Levi sighed heavily and clicked his tongue again, his eyes straying from Eren's face to the seat next him.

"So fucking filthy," the man muttered before he reluctantly parted with his coat and put it on the seat. He actually spend more than five minutes making sure that his coat covered the whole seat before he sat regally on it, his frown increasing when he heard his shoes squeak on the wooden and sticky floor.

"I know," Eren commented with a disgusted face. "It's like they never clean the place."

"Oh?" Levi tilted his head and gave him a slight smirk. "I wouldn't have pegged you with this...

"What? Decent hygiene? _Psh_ ," the brunet scoffed with a mock offended face. "I'd let you know that I'm actually the dirtiest jock you could ever find!"

Levi's eyes glinted with something that Eren couldn't clearly pinpoint and the college student blinked. The dark haired man leaned toward him and the brunet almost stopped breathing when he noticed how hooded Levi's eyes were.  
He couldn't hear anymore the predictions of the people hanging around him.

"Oh?" Levi breathed out in a husky whisper and Eren swallowed. Hard. This kind of voice added with those hooded grey eyes should totally be illegal.  
Mostly because they made his poor little heart beat way too fast. And all of this with a simple word. Eren kind of feared what would happen if Levi were to say a whole sentence.

Of course, the asshole actually said one.

"Could this be an invitation?" the man susurrated and his eyes glinted with the same  _something_  that Eren couldn't understand. Was it hunger? It did look like it but Eren couldn't understand why Levi would look at him like that. Unless he was a cannibal, of course.

And  _if_  Levi was a cannibal, Eren would ask the divorce on their very first night as husband and husband. Like hell would he live with a man-eating midget.

"Oi, kid, don't forget to breathe!" Levi flickered Eren's forehead with the tip of his fingers and the brunet blinked.

"Sorry about that," he laughed nervously. "I got kind of distracted..."

"Oh?" Levi smiled and Eren almost bristled when he saw how conceited the other man looked.

He was already planning a cunning and brilliant reply when the familiar buzz of the prediction whispers came back, almost shocking him with their intensity. Eren blinked vividly, trying to keep his calm while he looked in front of him, right at the empty volleyball court. The brunet ignored everything around him and took a deep breath, pushing aside the fact that the predictions had never been so intense and that he wasn't even looking at someone's face, before he closed his eyes and let out his breath in a long sigh. The boy continued counting his breathing until his heartbeat calmed down and he kept his eyes closed.

Even with them closed, Eren could still clearly hear every little prediction around him. In was in those kind of occasions that the boy hated his condition. If it kept like this, he'd have to leave the gym before he had even seen Mikasa play and he knew that he'd hate himself if it happened.

Eren took another deep breath and his meditation was disturbed by a hand shaking him softly by his shoulder.

"Hey," Levi called him softly (actually surprising the college student because... hello? It was Levi, and softness didn't really go with his persona). "You look like you're going to puke, you okay?"

"I'm okay," Eren croaked nervously and he opened his eyes.

Levi was leaning toward him, a (maybe worried) frown on his face while he kept his hand on the brunet's shoulder. The latter noted that the man's hand was warm and not clutching tightly at his shoulder.

"It doesn't change the fact that you like shit though," the dark haired man commented with a drawl in his voice.

And of course, whenever Eren actually got a nice thought toward Levi, the man had to walk all over it and then smash it down with his prissy attitude.

The predictions had stopped though.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Mikasa's match had been awesome and Eren had been sitting on the border of his seat, his nails digging into the soft flesh of his palm while he looked with bright eyes at his sister play. The brunet had whooped happily when the match ended with Mikasa's team winning, and he jumped around while screaming his joy. Maybe he hugged Levi in his effusion of happiness, but then again so did he with another guy that he didn't know at all.

However, it was true that the two men cheered (Levi clapping whenever Mikasa spiked was considered as cheering for Eren) during the whole match and when it ended, they both stood while eyeing each other warily.

"Uh," Eren began with a small cough to hide his nervousness (because talking with Levi would never get easy for him. _Never)._ "I guess this is it?"

"Won't you go talk with Mikasa?" Levi asked him without answering his question.

"Nah," the brunet shrugged before he scratched his right elbow. "She told me that the girls in her team planned to celebrate their match, even if they had lost today, so... I guess that I'm leaving."

Levi nodded silently and began to walk briskly toward the nearest exit.  
Considering this as a goodbye, Eren shook his head softly, glanced at the back of Levi's head and gritted his teeth.

_'If this man doesn't marry Eren Jaeger, the world will end in 800 days.'_

It had changed.

"Wait! Levi!" Eren called while he hurriedly ran after the black haired man.

The latter stopped at the door and looked at him with a raised brow.

"What is it?" he inquired while he waited for the college student to finish running to his side. His grey eyes narrowed when he caught sight of Eren's limp and the latter noticed it.

Eren stiffened and tried his best to stop shuffling nervously, ignoring how his left leg was aching after his impromptu sprint. Going down those stairs while running hadn't really been his brightest idea. But his always aching stump wasn't really what mattered now. The brunet narrowed his eyes and looked with unwavering determination at Levi's face.

"Er," the college student bit his lips while raking his brain for a good topic that could make Levi spend more time with him. "Are you hungry?"

Levi sighed and shook his head.

"I thought you'd never ask," he muttered with another sigh before going through the door. Eren stayed petrified and watched the man leave, his heart about to spill from his parted lips. However, the boy was surprised when Levi stopped walking and glanced behind him with a glare. "Aren't you coming?"

"Yes!"

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

"So..." Mikasa drawled on the phone. "You and my uncle?"

Eren groaned and he tried to hide his head under his pillow. Alas, it was all for naught because Armin stole his precious pillow and watched him squirm under his gleeful eyes.  
Sometimes, Eren truly wondered why he was friends with such a sadist.

"Armiiiin," the brunet whined pathetically while he stretched his hand toward the smiling blond. "Give it back!"

"No can do, Eren," Armin happily told him while he hugged Eren's adored pillow. The brunet gasped at his affront. "You won't get it back until you tell us everything. _Every. Little. Thing."_

Eren whined again and he surrounded himself with his heavy blanket. He faintly heard Mikasa ordering him to put her on speaker and moaned at his own misfortune while he rolled on his bed. But, as he did so, he became a blanket burrito and thus was unable to escape from Armin's inquisition.

"So," the blond merrily began once Eren was immobilized (on his own too. The brunet was ashamed of himself) and Mikasa was on speaker. "Tell us everything about your date with Mikasa's uncle."

"Yes," the girl assented and Eren almost rolled his eyes when he heard her next words. "And if he ever touched you in your privates places, uncle or not, I'm going to kick his dwarfish ass."

Eren snorted and shook his head softly from his blanket burrito.

"Actually," he announced after clearing his throat nervously. "I was the one trying to get in his pants."

Armin immediately wrote something down in his Ebook and looked back at Eren, his pen already hovering close to his lips.

"Was it love at first sight or just sexual attraction?" the blond inquired and it made his friend blush like a tomato.

"God, no! Armin!" Eren grimaced while he shook vividly his head to purge his mind from those horrible thoughts.

Even if Levi was his husband to be (because Eren really wanted to keep living in this world), the brunet didn't actually want to sleep with him. Unless it meant actually sleep because Eren was always down for that.  
Sleeping was awesome and Eren could bet that Levi would be a great sleeping partner. Like he'd stay put and let Eren take all the blankets. Something like that. Yeah, Eren could see himself sleeping with Levi.

"That's weird," Mikasa bluntly stated, shaking Eren away from his thoughts on sleep and Levi.

"What is?" Armin asked her while the brunet blinked and tried to understand what was going on around him.

"Eren and Levi," the young woman answered with a rustle of clothes. She'd probably shrugged. "Eren has never showed any attraction to anyone and suddenly, he meets my uncle and goes on a date with him. It's weird."

"Probably because Levi's your uncle?" Armin helped her with a glint in his eyes that Eren knew all too well.

"No," the brunet sternly interrupted them.

"Huh?"

Armin stopped writing whatever observation he had made after his little talk with Mikasa and glanced at the blanket burrito currently named Eren Jaeger. The latter was pouting and glaring at his bed sheets (they had the Star Wars logo on them and didn't deserve such hateful glare).

"It isn't attraction," Eren explained, his eyes shifting to Armin's face before they went back to his bed sheets. "It's because of his prediction."

"What did it say?" Mikasa was quick enough to catch what her brother in everything but blood had implied. "Eren,  _what did it say_!"

"Well," the brunet shrugged nervously and glanced at his best friend, noticing how Armin's eyes were wide open and that the blond was now gnawing on his pen. "Please, don't freak out, okay? It's going to be fine, I'm already on it."

" _Eren_ ," Mikasa's voice had almost turned frantic and the brunet regretted that he had such a shitty power. Thanks to that, his sister hadn't been able to truly enjoy her win and was now stressing over her uncle's future.

Way to go, Eren. Way to go.

"Er," Eren hesitated briefly before he took a deep breath and finally gave away his secret. "If I don't marry him, the world will end in 800 days."

The heavy silence that followed Eren's revelation was broken when the distinctive sound of a pen snapping echoed in the bedroom.

"Come on, not again!" Armin complained while he wiped his mouth covered in blue ink with his sweater sleeve.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

"Okay," Armin took a deep breath and raised a hand. "I think that I've got it."

The blond nodded to himself as if he had made an important point and then turned to his best friend. The latter was still curled into a blanket burrito and was nodding off, confirming Armin's suspicions of his recent drowsiness.

"First evidence: Eren Jaeger, who has the power to hear people's destiny," the young man stated while he quickly checked his _Eren's book_. "Second evidence: Eren meets Mikasa's uncle, Levi Ackerman, in a train and confuses him with a pickpocket when his money had in fact slipped under our couch."

Eren groaned and tried to smother himself with his bed sheets. Of course, Armin would never let him forget about that. 

But the blond was on a roll and he kept pacing in the brunet's bedroom, his nose in his book while he muttered things to himself.

"And that leads us to the third evidence," Armin added while pointing his finger at Eren's curled form. "Eren hears Levi's prediction and learns that if he doesn't marry him, the world will end."

"I think that everyone knew this, Armin," Mikasa dryly commented.

"Hush, let the genius talk," the blond huffed. "Fourth evidence: Levi helps Eren calm down after his initial freak out. That ends with a date. And then... Fifth evidence."

Eren whined and used a piece of his blanket to cover his head so he wouldn't have to hear whatever followed next. Armin grinned and the brunet was glad that he couldn't see how his best friend laughed at his demise.

"Eren is gently told by Levi to stop eye-fucking him while he eats because it makes his food taste like shit," the blond ended with an audible mirth in his voice.

"I didn't even look at him like that," the brunet complained from his hiding spot.

"I know," Mikasa reassured him and Armin discreetly nodded.

They both knew that Eren didn't know at all the intricate ways of flirting. He'd always been way too oblivious for his own good for that.

"Don't worry, Eren," the young woman assured. "I'll tell that midget to piss off and apologize."

"Actually, we could use this," Armin cupped his chin pensively and his face suddenly brightened.

Eren, who had peeked his head out of his blanket when he had heard Mikasa's reassuring words, blanched in horror and felt his stomach curl in dread.

"Oh no," he whispered.

"Oh yes," the blond nodded with a devilish smile on par. He then glanced at his notebook and took a pen littering on Eren's writing desk to write down his newest plan. "Let's begin the " _Seduce him or die trying_ " plan!"

"That's a shitty name," the brunet stated with a raised brow.

Armin remained unfazed and continued writing down in his notebook. However, Mikasa was smart enough to cut through the possible argument.

"It's either that or the end of the world," she reminded him with a sigh. It was clear that she didn't like at all the thought that Eren would have to marry her uncle.

Mostly because it meant that neither of them would find happiness if they didn't love each other.

"Also," Mikasa added absentmindedly. "It's not like we can let you seduce him alone, you suck at flirting, Eren."

"Right," Armin approved without even looking up from his writing. "Remember Mina?"

"It was just a one-time thing!" Eren protested while a vivid blush began to creep on his whole face. "And I only told her her future!"

"That's why you suck at it," Mikasa stated, slaying without any remorse by the way any confidence that Eren had meagerly amassed with time. "You told her that she would find her true love after adopting her twentieth cat..."

"It was a nice thing!" the brunet insisted. "Don't girls like to hear about their true love?"

"Of course," the young woman shrugged it off. "But not when it's also implied that they need to become a cat lady to meet their true love."

"I give up," Eren moaned as he slumped on his bed, feeling the now habitual drowsiness surround him. "Wake me up when Armin has a plan."

"Will do," the two other youths hummed.

 

 

 

 

 **Days before the end of the world :**  _799_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any question about this story or just want to talk, here's my tumblr, [**snarky-goldfish**](http://snarky-goldfish.tumblr.com/). Do it, I'm a lonely person and it'll make my day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren isn't authorized to flirt, Levi's an awkward teddy beard and Mikasa becomes an matchmaker. Also, Armin's frighteningly good at planning.

"Okay," Armin announced as he neatly placed two stacks of paper in front of Eren and Mikasa. "Here's the first part of the plan."

The blond sat on a chair, facing the two dark haired siblings, and nodded with a decided face.

"You can read it," he added when it became obvious that Eren and Mikasa wouldn't move.

The two other youths jumped on their respective stack and began to read feverishly. It wasn't really an uncommon sight as Armin had always been the brain in their tight-knit team. Eren began to crumple the corner of the first page of Armin's plan and sighed heavily when he read the first paragraph.

"Seriously," the brunet whined as he glanced at his best friend. " _Don't even try to talk to him until I give you the green light_?!"

"Eren," Armin began with an overly sweet smile. "Do I have to remind you what happened with Franz?"

Eren's face turned to a rather disgusting shade of green and Mikasa raised an interested brow at the sight. She pushed back the stack of paper (it was way ticker than Eren's and it didn't surprise her at all. Armin had already told them that it was only the first part of his master plan) and cocked her head with an amused smile.

"I've never heard of this Franz," she commented with a light voice. "Did it happen recently?"

Eren groaned and let his head fall with a loud sound on their kitchen table, while Armin grinned like the Cheshire Cat. It was now very obvious that the blond had planned this very situation and the brunet's groan increased in intensity when he noticed that his almost sister was looking at him with perplexed frown.

"So what happened?" Mikasa insisted. She had never liked being let out of something and the two boys knew that if they were to ignore her question, they would soon enough find out if she had kept working out in her family gym.

Eren shuddered at the memory of the last time that Mikasa had tried to roughhouse them (Armin had refused to stay in the same room as her for hours) and quickly began to talk. But, as he still had his forehead against the kitchen table, the two other youths couldn't hear or decipher at all what he was saying. Armin seemed to take pity of the brunet's reluctance to explain what had happened with Franz (or he was just scared of a pissed off Mikasa) and the blond promptly cleared his throat, his smug smile still on his face.

"There was this boy in Eren's psychology class in the last semester," he began and Mikasa glanced at Eren's prone form. Could this Franz have been Eren's first male crush?

The brunet was so secretive with his own life that she sometimes felt as if she was a stranger. But Eren always assured her that he simply didn't have anyone he liked or wanted to date (Mina had been the one who had asked him out), and Mikasa had decided that he'd tell her if he ever fell in love. And yet, here was Armin telling her a (seemingly funny) story about Eren's love life. Or lack of if she believed in her hunch about Eren's evident lack of tact and big obliviousness.

"What about him?" she insisted with a last glance to Eren's moaning face.

The brunet hid his head behind his hands and the young woman frowned. His right hand had stayed put while his left one had moved. His prosthesis had stopped moving with his impulsion, that wasn't good.

"So, Eren noticed him and thought that realizing Franz's prediction would be easy as pie," Armin chattered happily. "And one day, while they were in the break between two heavy classes, Eren went to this guy and told him something that you won't believe..."

Eren groaned and began to shake his head, obviously trying to ignore his best friend's words. It clearly didn't work because the brunet finally stopped hiding his face behind his hands and glared at Armin.

"I just told him to go out with me," he grumbled.

Mikasa blinked. She then looked at Armin and her mouth fell slowly agape when she saw the blond nod with an incredibly bright smile.

"I just wanted to talk with him in private, that's all!" Eren added before a whine crept up his throat and he had to hide his rising blush behind his hands once again.

"And the best thing is," the blond added while his blue eyes sparkled in mirth. "Frank actually accepted and told Eren that he'd always thought that he had the prettiest eyes he'd ever seen!"

Mikasa took a deep breath and tried her best to not glare at Eren, the boy hadn't even realized that his words could be taken differently. But still, if he kept talking like that, the young man would end someday in a really bad situation and she hated herself to even think about that. Eren only deserved the best and she'd do her darnedest best to make him obtain it.   
Even if it meant pushing him in her extremely reclusive uncle. They clearly didn't have anything in common (except herself and this doom-like prediction) and would end married (now that Armin was on board, it would end like that. Each and every of the smaller boy's plan always ended successfully) without any real love between them.  
Unless she tweaked a bit the things between the two hardheaded men and used her feminine touch to actually make them realize that the other was an awesome person.

"But this story didn't end like that," Armin's chuckles cut through Mikasa's line of thoughts and she glanced up at the smirking blond. "Because, while Franz was convinced that he was going with Eren, Eren himself was pushing Franz toward his soulmate. Now that I think about it, you never broke up, Eren..."

"God, shut up," the brunet muttered. "I'll follow your advice so please, stop torturing me with that story..."

"I see," Mikasa mumbled in the meanwhile, her fingers playing absentmindedly with one of the pages of Armin's plan. "If you never broke up, wouldn't that guy be an obstacle?"

"Nah," the blond shrugged and patted Eren's stack of paper with a wink. "It's already planned. Franz's actually going to be a possible big help. But it all depends on you, Mikasa."

"Me?" the young woman repeated with a slight frown. She glanced back at her part of the plan and her grey eyes widened in surprise when she noticed the part that Armin was implying. "Oh... _I see_."

"What is it? What is it?" Eren perked up from his spot of pure despair and tried to look over Mikasa's shoulder at her plan.

"I'll see to it," the young woman acquiesced and stood up, taking her stack and putting it in her satchel. "In fact, I'll do it right now."

"Wait, Mikasa!" Eren bolted on his feet and ran after the dark haired girl, his shoeless prosthesis squeaking a bit when it scratched the wooden floor. The brunet was slightly panting when he finally caught with her and Mikasa had to wait a bit for him to regain his breath. The brunet took a deep breath and scratched the elbow joint of his prosthesis while he shuffled a bit on their apartment door, the young woman looking at him in silence. Then, when he finally felt as if he wouldn't pant if he were to talk, the boy opened his mouth. "Are you really leaving now? Didn't you hear the news, there's a yellow alert going on now!"

Mikasa widened her eyes and they softened slightly when she realized what Eren had implied with his nagging. She observed carefully how the young man was slightly shifting his weight on his good leg as well as his naked prosthetic foot. He had rushed to her side even when it was obvious that it was one of his bad days with his prosthesis. And Mikasa understood better than everyone else how the boy thought and acted.

"Do you want to go with me?" she asked with a softer voice, her grey eyes keenly watching how Eren's face lightened and his eyes widened in relief.

And this was why she felt bad with the idea of pushing Eren toward her uncle. The brunet was like a bundle of sweetness and hardheaded determination. Everything that she knew her uncle couldn't deal with. Like she also knew that her uncle didn't really mingle with people and was truly horrible at flirting (it was in the Ackerman's gene pool, her father as well was shit at it and her mother had always liked to tell him about the endless fails of her father's tries at being smooth). So the mere idea of Eren attempting to seduce her uncle into a heavy commitment actually made her cringe. But well, Armin was on the job so they would probably be successful.

"Mikasa?" Eren's voice called her and it startled her. The young woman blinked and glanced at her little brother, noticing that he was wearing shoes and had already tied his maroon scarf. A fleeting smile floated on her lips when she saw the scarf and she briefly caressed her own bright red scarf, faintly remembering the day where Eren had gifted her with it. "Shouldn't we get going before the alert goes to red?"

"You're right," the young woman acquiesced and blinked away the remaining memories.

She'd have to get accustomed to the idea of Eren being the first one of their tight-knit group to get married.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

"Where will you sleep tonight?" Eren inquired softly while they walked in the heavily crowded street.

He had locked his left arm with Mikasa's and the latter smiled at him, silently thanking him for caring about her safety even if she was stronger and way more dangerous than him. It was always nice to know that she had a little brother always ready to bold to her side just to protect her.

"My uncle's house," she answered with a small shrug. "That way, I can complete the plan's first step."

Eren's foot slipped over some leaves and he almost lost his footing. Mikasa immediately righted him, using their linked arms to haul him to her side. The brunet almost collided with her chest but, as they were both accustomed to his clumsiness whenever fall and winter came around, they both avoided the collision and continued walking without mentioning the almost fall.

"His house," Eren mused softly. "Does he live close by our apartment?"

Mikasa merely shrugged and continued walking, almost hauling Eren to her side. The brunet kept his pace with hers and clicked his tongue in annoyance. She hadn't answered him but he decided to let it slide. After all, they both were going there so he'd soon enough find out.

Dead leaves crunched under their shoes when they had to cross through one of the multiple parks scattered in the city and the two youths stopped in front of a little pond to watch the ducks hanging around it.

"See?" Mikasa whispered in her red scarf. "They haven't left yet, we're safe."

Eren sighed and silently tightened his hold on her arm.

They left the park without a word and the young woman glanced at the sky. Heavy clouds were smoldering above them and she narrowed her eyes when she caught sight of golden flashes inside them. She quickened her strides and gritted her teeth when a flock of sparrows suddenly flew by them. Eren gasped softly and his hold on her arm became almost painful. They both were running now, in the midst of a quickly dimming crowd. People were silently hurrying to the nearest shelter and Mikasa began to consider if her uncle would accept housing Eren too. He had a really tiny house but Eren could probably squeeze himself in his couch. Or in his bed.

Her eyes glared at no one and she almost cursed under her breath. This had Armin written all over.

They turned around the corner and Mikasa glared at the crowd, annoyed that some of the passerby were beginning to push everyone so they could get to safety in time.

"We're still in yellow," she muttered while she gritted her teeth.

Eren was panting louder than before and she was getting nervous. The young woman glanced at the smoldering sky and cursed under her breath. The clouds had turned an eerie shade of pink and the was becoming harder to breathe easily. The two young people weren't really surprised when the alarm sirens began to blare with the distinctive sound of a red alert.

"Mikasa," Eren hissed through his pants while they ran in the now empty streets. "We need to get somewhere safe. Now!"

"I know!" Mikasa almost barked at her brother figure but decided against it. She knew better than anyone else how the brunet was perturbed and screaming at him wouldn't help at all. Finally, they arrived to her uncle's street and she pushed Eren toward a porch, her free hand already looking for the key in her jacket pocket.

Eren scowled at her for the push but didn't say a word, his eyes were wide open and he was looking at the pink sky where speckles of gold were shimmering. He could see how the heavy clouds were turning and rumbling, brief flashes sparking in them, but it everything was quiet. It was all so eerily quite. The brunet could distinctly hear Mikasa's clothes while she was looking for her key, as well as his own heartbeat. It was beating madly, proving him that even if time had passed, Eren would always be a coward.  
But that was everything that he could hear. Nothing else.

"Mikasa," the young man whispered with horror. "I can't hear the predictions."

Mikasa cursed loudly and threw herself at the front door, her leg harshly kicking at it and the door didn't have a chance against her strength. They ran in the lobby and the dark haired woman glanced at the broken door with a regretful look before she pushed her little brother to the stairs going to her uncle's obligatory bunker. Once they both were safe behind the heavy titanium door and the filtered air began to run, the two let out a relieved sigh and fell down.

Levi's bunker, like every other bunker in the city, only had the necessary to survive a natural disaster. Filtered air, canned soup and food, bottled water for two weeks, two cisterns of water with a water filter and, finally, a couch. But the thing that the two youths immediately went for was the little screen glued to the wall. It was turned on and showing them the street outside. And like they had thought, it wasn't a pretty sight. A yellowy rain was drizzling on the pavement and every droplet created a little hole.

"So it's acidic rain this time," Eren muttered to himself. "Guess that the next one will be an earthquake..."

Mikasa held his hand and squeezed it softly, silently trying to tell him that she'd be there for him. The brunet smiled at her and fell back on the couch with a tired groan. He stretched his legs and slowly rotated his ankle. Sometimes, having a prosthetic leg really sucked. Mostly because that leg weighed less than the other and he had this annoying habit to slip over nothing. His balance truly was shit.

"What about your uncle?" the brunet asked while he rolled up his trousers to check his joint.

"He's still working," Mikasa answered before she sat next to Eren. She let her head fall on the brunet's shoulder and sighed in relief. They were both safe now and just had to wait until the rain stopped. "You look less tired," she added pensively.

And it was true. Eren's eyes were awake and shining brightly for once, while they had been dull and heavy lidded when they had left his apartment. It was probably caused by their little sprint and the adrenalin rush.

The brunet shrugged and raised his left hand, the good one, to play a bit with Mikasa's black strands. The girl melted under his touch and closed her eyes, feeling like a satiated cat.

"You know," she whispered so softly that she wasn't really sure if Eren could hear her. "Levi also likes when you play with his hair..."

Mikasa felt Eren's shoulder shake a bit and she creaked open an eye, glancing at his face. The boy was chuckling silently and his eyes were sparkling with playfulness.

"Right," the boy commented with an amused tone. "Like he isn't going to tear my arm out if I touch his hair..."

Mikasa rolled her eyes and swatted his stomach softly. Eren stopped chuckling and began to play absentmindedly with her hair while she slowly felt herself fall asleep. The volleyball match had been the day before and she still felt somewhat aching over. Without forgetting that she was in one of the safest place right now and with Eren by her side. Really, she didn't see why she couldn't fall asleep.

"Say, Mikasa," Eren whispered as he tugged softly on one of her strands.

"Hm?" the young woman sleepily muttered. She stretched and put her head on the young man's thights. Now she could fall asleep and wouldn't end with her neck killing her.

"Are you sure that your uncle is safe? Where does he work?" the brunet inquired softly. It made Mikasa snort. And here she was fearing that the two men wouldn't like each other, when Eren obviously already cared for Levi's safety. But the boy was so oblivious that he hadn't probably noticed yet how deep his feelings ran.

"Don't worry, Eren," Mikasa yawned and almost nuzzled the boy's stomach. "Levi's a bit of a worrywart about this. He once got really injured after a disaster and since then he has always made sure to be near a refuge wherever he goes. Though he always complain about the dust."

"I see," Eren nodded and sighed in relief.

Those natural disaster weren't to be underestimated. They could go from a yellow alert to a red one in a matter of seconds and the death toll was always heavy. He knew it better than anyone else. And, even though no one could really understand why, they happened in a regular interval. Almost as if they had been scheduled.

The brunet hummed softly to himself while he began to braid Mikasa's hair. He glanced at the screen and his humming stopped short when he saw that the acidic rain had stopped drizzling and was now pouring like some kind of apocalyptic flood. Eren took a deep breath and then let it go. From what Mikasa had told her, Levi was as worried about those disasters than him, his bunker wouldn't be connected to the sewers. They weren't in danger.  
But Eren knew that until he heard once again Mikasa's prediction, he wouldn't relax.

He always felt fidgety whenever one of those strange disasters happened. Losing his ability to hear people's destiny and only hearing the sound of his own heartbeat and breathing stressed him more than anything else.

Mostly because it reminded him of the loss of his limbs.

_The little boy was gasping for air, the heavy dust slowly settling on his broken body and his blood colored the whiteness of the scene._

" _Eren?! Eren, stay with me!"_

_He looked up and tried to smile at the person. He could hear their prediction and they were beautiful._

" _Di'you know, mom?" he spluttered, blood and spit running over his dirty face and tracing streaks over it. He probably looked like a freak. "'ngels need wings t'fly..."_

Eren scowled at himself and glanced back at the screen. The rain was already calming down and he sighed. It was more than time to go home, he'd to tell Armin that he was safe. The brunet slowly pushed Mikasa until she was laying on the couch, dead asleep, and walked to the screen. Like he'd thought, the rain was stopping. He looked at the young woman and smiled softly.

' _This woman will go to the Olympics._ '

The prediction was back.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

When Levi got back home, Mikasa was crouching next to his broken door. Her grey eyes faintly flickered at his face before they went back to the heavy door laying between the two of them.

"Not a word," she muttered before she stood up and took the door to put it against a wall.

Levi merely shrugged and walked into his living room. A bit of the acidic rain had flooded in lobby but the rest of his old house was still habitable. He didn't see why he should get angry at the young woman when it was obvious that she'd been forced to tear down the door to get home safely.

"Got surprised by the rain?" he asked because, sometimes, Levi could make small talk.

"Yes," Mikasa nodded while she worked on the door. Its hinge had been destroyed by her kick but Levi had a whole box full of replacements. Those kind of things came with his past, the man had always hated to be unprepared. "I was with Eren and panicked."

The adult began to pour water in his teapot and put it on the kettle. While he had to wait for the water to boil, the man began to look at the different kind of tea he possessed and he clicked his tongue when he noticed that his favorite was almost empty. Levi made a mental note to go buy more the next day and took two cups. He put then on his tiny kitchen table and took the whistling teapot. After pouring the boiling water in the respective cup, he went to Mikasa's side and gave her a cup. The young woman had just finished repairing the door and she accepted the drink with a small nod. She sniffed softly at the hot beverage and smiled at her uncle when she recognized her favorite chamomile infusion.

"Figured you'd be sore," the man shrugged before he went to sit on his couch.

Mikasa followed him without a word and sat next to him, nursing her drink silently. They both appreciated silence more than words so they didn't talk at all while they drank their tea. Finally, Levi put down his empty cup of tea on the sturdy coffee table and leaned back on the couch, his arms folded over his chest while he glanced from the corner of his eyes at his niece.

"So this  _Eren_ ," he began with a light drawl in his voice. "Did he spent the whole alert downstairs with you?"

Mikasa slightly perked up at her uncle's willingness to talk about her little brother and she hid an amused smile behind her cup of tea.

"Yes," she answered after taking a little sip of her infusion. "He insisted to walk me to your house and we got surprised by the downpour. Don't worry about that, we didn't leave a mess and Eren made sure we cleaned the stairs."

"I see," Levi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes and looked at his niece with a reluctant expression. "You didn't...  _you know_."

"What?" Mikasa blinked and was almost too shocked to keep talking. Did her uncle really believe that she had done the do with Eren? With her little brother?! "Of course no! Eren's like a brother for me!" The young woman was suddenly hit by an idea and had to hide a devious smile behind her cup of tea. "Beside," she added with a lilt in her voice. "He doesn't bat for that team."

"I see," the dark haired man repeated with his eyebrows slightly furrowed. His grey eyes widened in surprise and he turned to look at her. "Wait a minute, Eren isn't that blond kid?"

Mikasa rolled her eyes. Like always, her uncle was horrible at remembering names.

"No," she sighed. "Eren's the one with brown hair. You already met him. In fact, it was yesterday and you even went on a lunch date. Do you remember?"

Levi groaned and shook his head.

"Right, that kid," he muttered before he wrinkled his nose and cocked his head. "How is he doing?"

The young woman almost groaned at her uncle's unwillingness to admit that he wanted to know more about Eren. But instead of downright telling him that her little brother wanted to marry him like she'd have done in any other given situation, Mikasa decided to abide by Armin's plan and sighed heavily.

"Not that fine since  _someone_ ," she glared at Levi who raised a perplexed brow, "decided to tell him that he was eye-fucking him and that it was making his food taste like shit..."

"Why? It's true," the man shrugged. "The kid was looking at me like he wanted to see me naked and fuck me on the table. That's nasty as fuck. And it's impossible to eat something when you have those huge ass eyes looking at you like that, Mikasa."

"Levi," the woman rolled her eyes and decided to twist a bit Armin's plan. Her uncle was way too inconsiderate and rude to be able to play in the blond's hands. "Eren's a virgin and is a shit at flirting. Believe me, he wasn't looking at you like that, he was just looking at you like he does with everyone else."

The man blinked slowly.

"Really?" he asked with his eyebrows raised in incredulity. "The kid wasn't trying to seduce me? At all?"

"Yes," Mikasa nodded and decided that her uncle didn't need to know that Eren had been trying to flirt but not at the lunch date. Seems like the boy's natural obliviousness had been enough to shake a bit her uncle's facade.

"Oh," Levi raked his fingers through his dark hair and blinked. His features twisted into an annoyed scowl before they went back to his normal and bored face. "But really, you should have seen him eat his pasta. That was downright pornographic."

"He's always been a messy eater," the younger Ackerman shrugged.

Levi clicked his tongue, his face slightly expressing his disgust, and leaned back on his couch, his grey eyes flickering to the ceiling. He licked his lips and sighed softly.

"You sure about that?"

Mikasa carefully put a face full of concern and put down her empty cup of tea. She glanced at her uncle and slightly tilted her head.

"Why?" she asked, watching with keen eyes how the man was almost glaring at his ceiling. "Do you wish Eren was flirting with you?"

Levi rolled his eyes and looked at her, a smirk ghosting over his bored facade.

"What about you?" he retorted evenly. "Do you want your friend to go out with me? Weren't you already going after him?"

Oh.

Mikasa's eyes widened in surprise and she gaped while her uncle looked at her with a frown.

"You actually like him!" she exclaimed while blinking owlishly.

"What the fuck," Levi scowled and began to stomp quietly his foot on his plush carpet. "I only saw him for what? Three hours? Who the hell falls in love that quickly?"

"I don't know," the young woman shrugged and pointed her finger at her uncle's chest. "But you really like him, isn't it? Mom told me that Dad was the same with her!"

"Are you shitting me?" the dark haired man rolled his eyes and stopped stomping his foot. His eyes narrowed almost threateningly at his niece and he took a deep breath. "I'm not like your father, Mikasa. I don't... I don't do the whole dating-marriage-kids deal."

"That's good because Eren can't have kids," Mikasa retorted while she made a note in her mind. Levi didn't think of marriage, that would tweak a bit Armin's plan. But knowing the blond, he'd probably already planned thirty-six other plans if the one he'd given them failed.

Levi rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Not like that," he tried to explain before stopping short. He had never been good with words, like every other Ackerman, so Mikasa patiently waited for him to talk. "The romance thing," the adult finally began with a heavy sigh. "I don't really understand it."

"Does anyone really understand it," Mikasa dryly commented. She decided that she'd heard enough for now and stood up, taking the two empty cups and putting them in the kitchen sink. Levi followed her in silence. The adult leaned against the kitchen counter and observed his niece while she washed the cups.

"Nice match by the way," he finally said in an absent voice.

"Thanks," Mikasa retorted as curtly.

Levi groaned and shook his head.

"Whatever," he grumbled after throwing his attempts at small talk to the bin. "You still need to work on your spikes though. And that kid can scream, he almost broke one of my eardrums when you scored."

Mikasa raised an amused brow when Eren suddenly was back in their talk, and she didn't say a word when Levi clearly noticed it as well and scowled at her.

"Not a word," the man hissed before he stretched, making his shoulder pop. "I'm beat so I'm going to get some shut-eye. Don't forget your pills and don't make a mess."

"Love you too, uncle," Mikasa retorted with a smile.

"Don't fucking sass me, young lady," Levi scowled and began to stomp toward his bedroom.

Mikasa followed him with a wide grin and didn't bat an eyelash when she watched her uncle shed his shirt and trousers, and walk to his bathroom in his underwear. She sat on the bath railing and watched with a bored face her uncle's nightly ritual of washing his face and teeth.

"You didn't told me why you like him though," the young woman idly mentioned when Levi was about to spite his toothpaste.

The man almost choked on it and he turned to glare at Mikasa before he spat the toothpaste in the sink. He washed his mouth and carefully toweled his face before he turned toward his niece, his arms folded.

"Maybe because it was private?" he retorted.

"Come on," Mikasa rolled her eyes with all the sass she had. "Like you even care about that. Was it his face? His smile? His temperament? You always liked the fiery ones, right?"

"Nothing like that," Levi drawled before a cocky smirk blossomed over his face. "Something really easy and eye catching."

Mikasa frowned and went back to Eren's appearance the other day. He'd been wearing his habitual clothes, a hoodie with extra long sleeves and gloves so his prosthetic arm wouldn't be noticed as well as an ample trouser to hide his leg. Nothing really sexy.  
Unless you were Levi. And wasn't Levi known for his extra liking for cleanliness?

"Don't tell me it was the gloves?" Mikasa frowned and she almost groaned when she saw her uncle nod with his cocky grin.

"What can I say?" Levi shrugged. "I'm weak to black leather gloves and a great ass."

"How could you have seen his ass," the young Ackerman muttered almost to herself. "He's always wearing big clothes..."

"Let's just say that the kid presented himself to my eyes more than once," Levi cocked his head and his smirk suddenly vanished while his eyes took a pensive glint. "Coincidences can't happen that easily too..."

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

"So, to put it simply," Armin resumed while he turned to look at the two other youths. "Eren has a chance and, if he doesn't screw it up, he could end marrying with Levi. But that is," the blond looked at the brunet and his blue eyes narrowed, "if he follows my orders..."

"Yes," Eren accepted reluctantly. "I've already followed your advices and went to buy clothes with Mikasa, are you happy?"

"Mikasa?" Armin didn't answer the brunet and glanced at the dark haired woman. The latter nodded with a bright smile. "So I take it as you didn't buy another hoodie or track suit."

"Levi's best friend told me that he likes people dressed sharply and clean," she added her two cents with a small shrug. "Therefore, I bought clothes that highlight his eyes and ass. However, we're almost broke and Eren needs to replace his prosthetic limbs."

"What? Mikasa!" the young man protested and he glared at her. "I told you that I was fine! They are just slipping with my sweat that's all..."

"Eren, they aren't supposed to slip at all," Mikasa retorted with a cold voice. "You've lost weight. Again."

"Did you really, Eren?" Armin narrowed his eyes and immediately fetched his notebook to look at a page. "Eren, can you weight yourself?"

The brunet sighed heavily, annoyed that Mikasa had revealed what he had tried so hard to hide. Now that Armin knew, he'd probably spend more all-nighters on his case. And the blond didn't need to do that, not when he'd a lot of papers to write. Eren walked to the bathroom, deliberately ignoring how the joint on his knee was once again slipping when he had actually tied it recently, and went on the personal scale. He watched the numbers increase until they stopped at his normal weight.

"63 kg," he announced from his spot in the bathroom.

"How much does your arm weight?" Armin inquired as he walked into the bathroom with Mikasa behind him.

Eren furrowed his brows. His prosthetic arm was made of iron and hard carbon, he didn't really know how much it weighed but it sure was heavier than it looked.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Something like 2 kg?"

"What about your leg?" the blond added.

"Two once again."

"Your clothes?" Armin's eyes were narrowed and he was nibbling on his pen. Once again.

Eren glanced at his clothes and almost scowled. He was wearing his heaviest clothes as the weather had been getting colder and colder.

"Three," he reluctantly admitted.

"Five," Mikasa corrected him with a small frown. "You're wearing your boots."

"Eren," Armin breathed out while he let go of his pen (without breaking it this time). His brows were furrowed in worry and he was biting his lips. Something that the blond only did whenever he was extremely stressed or worried. "You've lost almost 10 kg."

The brunet glanced back at the numbers and swallowed. He had lost those ten kilograms in less than a week and all of this while eating normally.

"Eren," Mikasa took his hand and squeezed it softly, pulling him back in the living room and making him sit on the couch. "You should go to the hospital..."

Eren was startled by her touch and blinked in surprise.

"No," he refused calmly. "Not when there's something like the end of the world around the corner."

The two frowned and a tense vibe began to grow between them. Noticing that (and also fearing another roughhousing with Mikasa), Armin cleared his throat and clapped loudly to make the two other college students notice him.

"How about this," the blond proposed with a gentle smile. "Eren will keep the ' _Seduce him or die trying_ ' plan going while I'll go and talk with some specialists about Eren's case. That way, we can also avoid what we've always feared."

Eren glanced at Mikasa and nodded slowly. Like always, Armin's plan was the best.

"But before we get to that part," the blond cocked his head and pushed two new stacks of paper. "Here's the plan, I tweaked it a bit with Mikasa's information. Eren, please, follow the second page to a tee in two days, I've already made the appointment."

Eren glanced at the second page and his face turned white.

"Oh god," he moaned. "Armin, please! Anything but that!"

"Eren, believe me," the other boy retorted. "It's going to work."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've used kilograms (kg) instead of pounds but here are their equivalents:
> 
> 63 kg = 138.9 lb
> 
> 2 kg = 4.4 lb
> 
> 5 kg = 11 lb
> 
> 10 kg = 22 lb.
> 
> PS: I'm [ **snarky-goldfish** ](http://snarky-goldfish.tumblr.com/) on tumblr, you're more than welcome to talk to me!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren has great taste in underwear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm right in the middle of my finals so sorry if the chapter wasn't proof-read. I'll do it once I've more time. Until then, you'll have to read this.  
> Also, I've added links to pictures of Eren's prosthetic limbs. If you feel a bit queasy about stumps, don't click on the first one. And that's it, have nice read.

Sometimes, Eren woke up in the middle of the night. Most of the times, it had been caused by a bad dream and he always ended with his body covered in cold sweat and with ghosting pains over his stumps.

But there were other times where he just woke up with the whispers of those predictions hovering around him, pestering him to do something about their endless whispering. And there was nothing to do about that so the brunet could only lie in his bed and look at his ceiling.

Today had been one of those nights.  
Eren was laying on his bed and he leaned his arm over his face, his eyes closed, while he took a deep breath. He could faintly hear Armin's prediction nagging him and that confirmed his suspicion, the blond had done an all-nighter, planning who knows what for his plan.

Eren sighed and curled over himself, his fingers grasping some of his brown strands while he tried to relax. He moved his arm and glanced at the window, the blinds hadn't been lowered so he could see the night sky peppered with stars. They were fading though and that made him frown. It meant that his hated appointment would come in less time that he'd thought.

The brunet closed his eyes again and tried to think of something else, something that wasn't about his loss of weight, the incoming appointment and Mikasa's worried face. The faint memory of her irascible uncle floated in his mind and the young adult furrowed his brows. He still couldn't see how marrying an angry gnome would save the world.

Eren gritted his teeth and thought of the latest disaster. From what he had seen, the end of the world would probably be caused by those things. So, nothing that some marriage with a hobbit could help.

The sound of an indistinct whisper shook him from his thoughts and the brunet frowned when he noticed that the prediction was coming from the window. He slowly sat on his bed, stretching his arm to take his prosthetic leg and quickly fixed it before he stood to glance at the window. As he'd thought, someone was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, their head raised to look at Eren's edifice. The brunet cursed under his breath and quickly crouched to hide himself from the stranger's eyes. It was still too dark outside so the boy hadn't been able to see the person's face. However, from the pressed whisper of their prediction, Eren could already tell that they weren't good news.

Eren sighed. He'd have to tell Armin and he already knew how the blond would react. 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Armin knocked softly on the door and nervously shuffled on his feet, his hands tightening their grasp on the strap of his messenger bag. His blue eyes quickly traveled from the man drinking a cup of coffee at the corner of the corridor, to the closed door where a familiar nameplate was nailed lopsidedly. An annoyed voice answered from behind the door and the blond took a deep breath. Even with Eren telling him that he'd be the next Einstein, Armin still had some confidence issues but they always melted like snow under the sun whenever he talked about his favorite subject.

“Yes, what do you want?”

The question startled Armin and he took a quick step back when he noticed that the door had been opened during his brief daze and that an adult was looking at him with stern and tired eyes. He glanced at the tired face with crumbles of bread littering the chin and the greasy hair before his eyes stopped on the brown and intense eyes of the adult.

“Professor Hanji?” the blond asked with a small peak of nervousness.

“Yes, what do you want?” the brown haired professor answered with a bothered huff. “Look, kid, I've some things to do so...”

“I'm Armin Arlert,” he added with a sterner voice. “And I'm the one who sent that mail yesterday night. You did read it, right?”

Professor Hanji's eyes widened in surprise before they narrowed while the adult huffed another time. Hanji nodded and pushed the door until Armin had enough space to squeeze himself between the professor and the door to get in the office.

“Let's get straight to the subject,” Hanji declared while Armin sat in a rockety chair in front of the professor's desk. The latter was sitting on it, legs crossed and a pensive frown on par. “I'm Hanji and, as you already know, I'm the best in this field. Now, talk.”

Armin smiled, his lips quivering a bit while he felt the familiar spark of nervousness and excitation bloom in his stomach. He opened his messenger bag and took out his notebook, smoothing out the creases on his trousers before he put the notebook on Hanji's desk.

“I'm Armin Arlert,” he greeted back before his smile vanished. “And I'm here to ask you a question.”

“I know, I read your mail,” Hanji shrugged and glanced at the notebook. “Is it related to my studies?”

Armin nodded. He nervously licked his lips and took a deep breath before his eyes hardened in his resolve to save Eren's life.

“Professor,” the blond began, his voice unwavering. “From where do you think the seer's powers come from?”

Hanji cocked their head and narrowed their eyes while they thought about their answer. Finally, when Armin was already considering traveling to the other famous specialist in seers, the brown haired professor cleared their throat.

“From what old studies say,” they began with a pensive frown. “A seer's ability manifests itself whenever the seer uses the two hemisphere of their brain at the same time and at the same intensity. However, this doesn't mean that whoever can do that is a seer. There's something else but the subjects used didn't really confirm it.”

“So,” Armin nibbled on his thumb and furrowed his brows. “There's no loss of weight implied there?”

Hanji suddenly leaned forward until their nose was almost pressed against Armin's.

“So you really know a seer!” they squealed happily. However they soon sobered enough to answer the blond's question. “There shouldn't be any weight loss. Not with seeing the future or the past. They only use their brain to do that. The only thing that could happen would be a need of sugar after using their ability.”

Armin frowned. He had feared that kind of answer.

“But what if that ability was constant?” he insisted, his eyes straying to the notebook where he had wrote down everything about Eren's problems. “Could it be bad for their health?”

“Constant?” Hanji repeated and suddenly jumped from the desk and began to pace in their office. Their glasses were slightly askew and they were absentmindedly playing with a strand of their greasy hair.

“Let's see,” the professor began muttering to themselves. “If their brain is constantly in activity, would it wear down or would it adapt to the strain caused by such an activity? Or would it do nothing at all?”

Hanji took a deep breath and turned to look at Armin, their brown eyes widening in excitation.

“Armin, I have to meet that seer!” they almost shouted while jumping on the young adult to shake him by the shoulders.

“I refuse,” the blond immediately retorted. “I refuse to endanger their life. You know what happens to someone with that kind of power, professor Hanji.”

Hanji pouted and shrugged, their hands leaving reluctantly Armin's shoulders.

“I know,” they muttered with a sigh.

“However,” Armin cleared his throat and wasn't really startled when Hanji looked up at him so fast that their neck almost snapped. “I've consigned everything from their sleep pattern to the accuracy of their predictions in this notebook. You could work with that, right?”

“Armiiiin,” Hanji began to cry and jumped to smother the smaller blond in a hug. The latter grimaced when the stench of an unwashed body surrounded him.

And, because Armin clearly was a polite boy, he decided to not let Hanji know of their need of a shower and tried to think of something else to stop gagging at the stench. His thoughts wandered to Eren's prediction about the impending end of the world and the blond smirked to himself when he glanced at the clock hung on Hanji's office and realized that his plan was about to begin.

That is, if Eren didn't fuck up.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Eren had fucked up.  
Big time.

He nervously swallowed and almost choked on his saliva while Satan's spawn glared at him from under dark hair and a heavy coat of strawberry ice-cream. A shiver ran on his back and the brunet quivered in his socks when the extremely angry man wiped the pink ice-cream running over his forehead and flickered it to the sidewalk. Eren winced.

“What a pleasure to see you again,” the dark haired man hissed so coldly that the brunet shivered.

“I'm so sorry!” the latter screamed while he fell on his knees and hung his head low.

Maybe if he put himself lower than the man, he wouldn't kill him? He could always try because Eren was pretty sure that he was dead.

“What the fuck what that?” the man added while he looked down at the kneeling brunet. “How can someone slip over nothing? Huh?”

“I'm so sorry, Levi!” Eren repeated and his voice actually squeaked while he looked with terrified eyes at the man's feet.

Except that they moved. Eren glanced up with quivering lips and almost gasped when he saw that the adult, his gnome of a future husband, was now crouching to look at him. The brunet noticed that Levi's grey eyes were narrowed and that some of the strawberry ice cream was now dripping over the tip of his nose. However, the older man didn't really seem to care about the ice cream and was just glaring at the college student, his eyebrows furrowed into an annoyed face.

“Stop apologizing and start helping,” Levi's tight voice snapped at him and the brunet blinked.

For a second, he'd forgotten about the adult's prediction and had been startled by his voice. He jumped to his feet, his socks slipping over the wooden floor and Eren looked at his feet with red cheeks, trying to avoid the Levi's sharp eyes.

“Where's your bathroom?” the man asked while he strutted into Eren's apartment.

The latter blinked and weakly muttered his answer before he jumped to his kitchen. He fetched the mop and a bucket of water, went back to the door and began to clean the floor. Sticky floor was an absolute no-go for him, as were slippery floors. He just couldn't walk on them and just hated how his prosthetic leg always felt as if it was stuck to the floor whenever he walked on a sticky floor without his shoes or socks.

Eren was just finishing cleaning when he heard the other man's steps. He glanced behind him and wasn't really surprised when he was met with a glare. However, the adult's glare softened a bit and the latter even nodded with a soft hum.

“Why did you slip?” Levi asked with a raised eyebrow. He cocked his head and ran his hand in his damp hair, ruffling it a bit to make it dry faster.

Eren gulped, his eyes following the pattern that the hand made whenever it moved in the other man's hair, and glanced at Levi's feet. The latter was still wearing his shoes and it reminded him that he was still only wearing his socks. That wasn't good, his appointment was at two and if he didn't start running, he'd end late.

“Socks, wooden floor,” he reluctantly answered when Levi clicked his tongue to make his annoyance known. “Sorry about that, I didn't think that I'd be so surprised...”

“I can see that,” the dark haired man shrugged and stopped ruffling his hair. Some of his inky strands were standing up and Eren had to bite his lips to stop himself from chuckling.

That kind of hairstyle made Levi look way younger than he was. Actually, it made him look younger than Eren himself.

“Stay focused,” the brunet muttered to himself while he began to stumbled toward his room.

The adult watched him in silence, his keen eyes noticing how the young man leaned his weight more on a leg than another and the way his lips had tightened whenever he took a step. Also, the brunet was wearing clothes way more fitting than the first time they had met, and his trousers were highlighting quite nicely his bottom.

Not that Levi was checking him out, of course.

The boy came out of his room soon enough, wearing his shoes and with a messenger bag on his shoulder.

“Ready?” Levi asked when Eren stopped in front of him.

The college student furrowed his brows and cocked his head, searching through his memories if Armin had planned Levi's visit seconds before his appointment at the hospital. But as he couldn't remember anything about it and mostly because Eren knew that he didn't really have a great memory, the boy decided to follow Armin's rules.

In short, not talking to Levi unless Armin was around to lessen the damages.

And, as he slowly realized it when Levi repeated his question, Eren had already fucked up.  
How the hell was he supposed to not talk to Levi when the man had been nice enough to not kill him when Eren had spilled ice cream over his whole face? That would be just rude and Eren would hate to be like that. His mother had always been very keen on manners and cleanliness.  
Thus, he had to answer.

“Why are you asking me that?” Eren said while he checked discreetly his arm and leg by rotating his elbow and knee. The joints were correctly fixed and didn't move at all. Good.

“Mikasa told me that she couldn't come and that you needed someone with you,” the man shrugged and walked to the door. “Ready?”

Eren nodded and decided to just shut his mouth and follow the adult. That way, he'd follow Armin's advices and wouldn't fuck up anymore. Or more than he'd already done.

The walk to the hospital was short, Eren's apartment was close to the hospital, as his father had wanted, and they walked side by side in silence. The younger man actually tried to walk a little behind Levi but the latter didn't even let him try to do it, his hand taking the brunet by his sleeve and forcing him to walk by his side. It took them three steps before Levi remembered that he was still holding Eren's sleeve and let it go. The college student didn't comment on it and the adult slowly relaxed from his tense stance when he noticed it. They finally got in the hospital and Eren hurried to the counter to check himself. The nurse told him that his doctor was a little behind his schedule and that he'd have to wait until his appointment, making the brunet grimace. He really hoped that Levi didn't have to work that day because he'd have to call and cancel it if the man wanted to stay by his side.

“What's with that face?” Levi asked him once Eren got back to his side. The dark haired man was standing in the middle of the hall, his eyes observing with visible disgust the people around him, and he had his arms tightly folded over his chest as a makeshift protection against sick people. “Do you have to take a shit?”

“What's with you and shitting?” Eren retorted before he could even stop himself. He scowled at his own slip up and shook his head with a sigh. “My appointment has been delayed. If you want to leave, you're free to go.”

Levi blinked, his grey eyes stopped glaring at a woman who had coughed in front of him and watched Eren's annoyed face with an indescribable glint.

“Are you dying?”

Eren widened his eyes in surprise and almost choked on his spit. He had to cough though and that impeded him from protesting in shock. However, Levi seemed to take it as an affirmative and the man's grey eyes stopped glaring at whoever was around them to look at the young man with a worried light.

“So that's why Mikasa said that you needed someone with you,” the adult muttered almost to himself. “Do your parents know about this? Did you already tell them?”

“Oh my god, stop!” Eren hiccuped and he raised his hand to stop Levi's avalanche of questions. “I'm not dying! God, Levi, I'm just here to check something with my orthopedist, nothing else!”

“Oh.”

Levi blinked and his features schooled back in his habitual bored face, his eyes becoming once again half lidded while he looked at the brunet. He was probably trying to see why he needed to see an orthopedist.  
Eren sighed and raked his fingers through his hair, wincing a bit when some of his fingers got stuck in a knot. He shuffled a bit on his feet, his sneakers squeaking on the tiled floor, while he tried to avoid Levi's eyes. The latter was still observing him but his eyes were shining in curiosity.

“Is it the leg?” the man asked in a slightly softer voice.

Eren nodded and looked around them. From what he remembered of the day of Mikasa's match, Levi downright hated filth so standing in the middle of a hospital couldn't be great for his nerves.

“Do you want to drink something?” the college student while he inclined his head toward the hospital cafetaria.

Levi just walked toward the cafetaria without a word and Eren followed him with a small smile. Somehow, he could see them becoming friends.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Eren swallowed his sip of hot coffee and winced when the drink scorched his throat and esophagus. The college student's eyes never left his gloved hands curled around his styrofoam cup of coffee and he slowly blew over the burning hot drink. He vaguely heard someone clear their throat in front of him but continued staring at the coffee, observing with absent eyes how the steam was creating arabesques over the dark drink. A sigh followed the cough and then Eren was startled by a hand pushing softly the styrofoam cup until it ended on the table and stopped shielding the brunet's face from Levi's eyes.

“I believe that an apology is needed,” the latter sighed while his lips thinned into a scowl. “Even if you threw your ice cream at my face.”

“I already told you that I was sorry, what else do you want,” Eren muttered while keeping his eyes down. Therefore, he glared at his cup of coffee.  
It wasn't even good coffee. Eren should have taken a tea, like Levi. Because you couldn't fail making a tea, it was just hot water and a tea bag. However, the brunet had wanted to prove that he was an adult and had taken the coffee. He was already regretting it.

And he really needed to stop talking to Levi. Armin was going to skin him alive if he kept talking back like that.

“And you did it on your knees and with teary eyes,” Levi commented, his lips curling into a smirk that Eren didn't see. His grey eyes wandered over the brunet's ruffled hair and glaring eyes before they stopped over the gloved hands. “A _very nice_ sight, indeed.”

The college student stiffened under the sudden praise and he looked at the adult with a disbelieving face. He opened his mouth to say something but quickly refrained from doing anything. His eyes lost a bit of their fierceness and he went back to look intensively at his drink. Meanwhile, Levi frowned and began to thrum his fingers over the plastic table that he had cleaned before they had even sat to drink something.

The awkward silence had come back.

“Look,” Levi began while he took his cup of tea and glared at the dark brown drink. “I'm really sorry about what happened in that dinner. I really thought that you were coming onto me and I just can't deal with people doing that when I'm eating. Nothing personal, really.”

The adult took a long sip of his tea and almost missed how the brunet looked at him with wide eyes and his mouth agape. Eren's face expressed pure surprise and some kind of indignation too.

“Nothing personal?” the boy repeated while his face twisted into an annoyed scowl.

Levi put down his cup and glanced at the college student, his eyebrows slightly furrowed while he tried to understand what had happened to annoy the brunet so much. He probably went over his words because he ended frowning and glaring at his syrofoam cup of tea.

“Not like that,” Levi rolled his eyes and sighed softly while he leaned back against the plastic chair, his grey eyes never leaving his steaming tea. The adult thinned his lips and huffed slightly. “That tea tastes like shit.”

“Well, sorry about that,” Eren retorted with an annoyed eye-roll. “I didn't know that I was " _eye-fucking_ " you, I'll try to look somewhere else if it annoys you so much.”

“Wait, I didn't -” Levi protested but Eren didn't let him continue.

The boy stood up, pushing back his chair and stalked out of the cafetaria, his cup of coffee forgotten on the plastic table. Levi glanced at the two drinks and closed slowly his eyes, rubbing softly his forehead with the tip of his fingers while he tried to keep his calm. Eren had left without paying so the adult ended doing it and he grimaced when he had to hand over the money, his hand grazing briefly the waitress' fingers.

Once he had paid their drinks, Levi dusted his coat and glanced at his watch, gritting his teeth when he noticed the time. While it was true that he had promised Mikasa to be with her friend during his appointment at the hospital (something about owing the boy something after treating him like a creep), Levi hadn't planned on taking this much time and he was already late to his work. He glanced at the hospital hall, where Eren had disappeared, and sighed heavily. The dark haired man couldn't leave like that, not after having such a big misunderstanding. And Mikasa would skin him alive if he left.  
Therefore, Levi took his phone and quickly dialed the shop, telling his assistants that he wouldn't be able to make it. They were quick to reassure him and promised to look after the shop. He ended the call with a satisfied huff and glanced at the hospital hall, looking for the familiar ruffled brown hair and those fiery eyes whose color he couldn't quite define.

The college student was sitting near the reception with his arms folded on his chest and an angry pout on his face. Levi walked to his side and silently sat to his right, observing how Eren's face morphed from anger to annoyance.

“The orthopedists are based in the second floor,” the older man commented in a low voice.

Eren twitched at Levi's words and glared at the tiled floor.

“Thank you for waiting for me,” the dark haired man added and he got another twitch from the boy. Levi watched carefully how Eren's face was crunched into an annoyed scowl and he sighed softly. That wouldn't do. “Look, Eren,” he began with a deep sigh. “I'm not good with words. At all. I think that you already noticed it, right?”

The brunet snorted and rolled his eyes.

“Right?” Levi insisted with a raised brow.

“Right,” Eren accorded with an annoyed huff. “You're a jerk, what else?”

The dark haired man glared at him and then looked down at his hands. They were laying helplessly on his thighs and Eren frowned a bit when he noticed that the adult was rubbing repetitively one of his palms, his nails sometimes scratching the sensible skin. The latter suddenly sighed another time and straightened his back, his eyes narrowing while they looked intensively at the brunet's face.

“Say, Eren, do you hate me?”

The college student blinked and was suddenly hit by the importance of such a question. By asking this question, Levi was indirectly admitting that his opinion mattered to him, even by a little. And by answering this question, Eren could influence the destiny of their world.

“ _Don't even try to talk to him until I give you the green light_ ”

Those had been Armin's words. However, Eren was right now alone with Levi and his prediction hadn't been a fluke. It was still hovering around the grey eyed male, whispering its sweet and poisoning words in Eren's ears. The brunet had to take his destiny into his own hands.

“I'm not,” he finally answered with a small shrug. “I can sort of understand what you meant by that. It doesn't mean that I don't think you're a jerk.”

“I can live with that,” Levi drawled with the shadow of an amused smile.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

When Eren's appointment finally came, Levi realized why his presence had been forced by his niece. Mostly because the brunet literally jumped from his seat and tried to make a run for it, leaving behind him a flabbergasted Levi and an annoyed nurse (she was probably accustomed to such a reaction from the college student). However, Levi had always been quick to react and he was soon enough pursuing the runaway. He finally tackled him against a wall, just before the young adult exited the hospital. Once Levi was sure that the boy wouldn't run away again, he got up and took Eren's arm into a vice like grip to make sure that he'd stay by his side.

“Mr Jaeger,” the nurse had waited for them in the second floor and her stern face expressed what she thought of Eren's reaction. “The doctor is waiting for you.”

Eren scowled at Levi and tried to free himself from his grasp, hissing that he wanted to go alone. But the adult didn't listen to him and pushed him forward, thanking the nurse with a curt nod. They walked into a tiny office room, with only a desk and three chairs. However, Levi noticed that there was another door, closed, on the other side of the room and he pointed his chin at one of the chairs.

“Sit,” he ordered.

Eren huffed and fell on the chair, stretching his legs until his feet were under the desk and pouted angrily while he glared at the windows. The second door opened with a creak and Levi raised his head to look at a brown haired man with nervous chestnut eyes. The latter was cleaning his hands with a sanitizer and his face brightened when he caught sight of Eren's sullen figure.

“Eren!” the man exclaimed while he walked with his arms open toward the college student and hugged him with a wide smile. “It's good to see you again.” The man let go of the boy and his face suddenly turned disapproving, his brown eyes looking at Eren's body with an analytical glint. “Even if we should have do that sooner. Like three years ago, young man. Didn't I tell you that your prosthetic limbs needs to be changed every year until you stop growing?”

“You did,” the boy muttered while looking like a child caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. “I just had a lot of work to do and, well... I didn't want to disturb dad.”

“I've already told Grishia,” the man shrugged and pointed at the door at his back. “You know the drill, get prepared while I go and fetch the papers.”

Eren nodded silently and walked to the second room. Meanwhile, Levi stood in the middle of the office room with a small frown. Mostly because he was being analyzed by the doctor.

“You're a new face,” the latter commented before he smiled politely at the dark haired man. “I'm Moblit Berner, orthoprothesist.”

“Levi Ackerman,” Levi greeted back while shaking the doctor Berner's hand. “A... _friend of sorts_ of Eren.”

“Nice to meet you,” Moblit grinned and walked swiftly to the door. “Make sure that Eren doesn't escape by the window.”

Levi cursed under his breath and barged into the second room before he froze. His eyes widened in surprise and shock while he looked at Eren's white face. The latter was sitting on a bed, his shirt gone (actually folded and put on a chair) and was trying to unbutton his trousers. However, Levi's attention was mostly focused on the slightly tanned arm and the metallic limb. The boy was missing his right arm.

Levi felt his breath stop when he realized that it was the _right arm_.

“Don't tell me,” the college student sighed before he looked up and rolled his eyes at the adult's shocked face. “Moblit told you that I'd escape.”

Levi slowly nodded and his eyes wandered from the prosthetic arm to the fumbling (and metallic) fingers trying to unbutton the trousers. The brunet noticed it and frowned.

“You never realized that I had prosthetic limbs,” Eren stated coldly. “And now, you're pitying me.”

Levi shook his head and opened his mouth. But his voice didn't come out and the man blinked slowly, his eyes expressing his shocked state. However, Levi had always been good at masking his feelings and soon enough, the dark haired man was sporting his habitual bored expression and his lips quivered faintly.

“Do...” he began and his voice broke. Levi frowned and cleared his throat. “Did you lose your left leg too?”

Eren furrowed his brows and cocked his head, his eyes looking at the adult with suspicion.

“Yeah,” he admitted before adding with a voice heavily laded with suspicion. “How did you know that it was the left one? Did Mikasa tell you about it?”

“No,” Levi shook his head and didn't say anything else, his grey eyes looking at Eren's [prosthetic arm](http://bme240.eng.uci.edu/students/10s/slam5/types.html) with something akin to sadness and something else that Eren noticed and identified immediately.

Culpability.

However, Levi didn't have anything to do with his missing limbs. That had been caused by Eren's reckless acts during an earthquake, something that he could only fault himself for it. Also, it wasn't as if he hated living with prosthesis. They were really awesome and not that heavy (when they were correctly sized though).

Eren shook his head and decided to think of something else. Remembering the days where he still had all his limbs (and organs. He had lost quite a bit during the earthquake and its aftermath) and his mother wouldn't help him at all. Also, Levi's culpable aura was annoying him.

“Could you help me?” he decided to use this as an ice-breaker. Also, he was getting tired of his fumbling fingers and his real fingers weren't really helping as he had to hold onto the bed.

“Sure,” Levi answered with a distant voice. His eyes were still sad and full of resentment, probably towards himself. And that was something that puzzled Eren because, really, Levi hadn't done anything to him to deserve such a culpability.

The dark haired man stood in front of the sitting brunet and the latter snorted softly when he noticed that even sitting, he was taller than the other male. Levi seemed to caught on what had amused the younger boy and rolled his eyes.

“You're such a brat,” he muttered before he leaned over Eren's trousers and deftly undid the button.

Eren took a sharp breath when he was suddenly hit by the fact that Levi was actually standing in front of him, that he had caught a whiff of his shampoo coming from the adult's hair and that the situation was extremely awkward. He nervously shuffled on the bed and tried his best to think of something else than the fact that being on a bed was extremely convenient too. Levi undid the fly and then began to pull at Eren's trousers until they sled over his legs, uncovering his underwear and prosthetic leg. The dark haired man's eyes flickered briefly at Eren's extremely embarrassing Sponge Bob boxers and then at the [prosthesis](http://www.ossur.com/prosthetic-solutions/bionic-technology/symbionic-leg). He seemed surprised at the simplicity of it, Eren had chosen it for its efficacy more than its appearance after all. But then, he noticed that the boy was still wearing his socks and sighed heavily. After some seconds (probably to gather strength), the man took them out and looked with curiosity at the end of the prosthetic leg, observing how it curved and had something along to a spring. He appreciated the simplicity of it, knowing that it'd help the boy if he had to run. However, that soon vanished when he remembered why the boy had to wear prosthesis.

“Er,” Eren said nervously, his cheeks reddening when he noticed that Levi was looking at him when he was only wearing his underwear, and was standing extremely close to the bed. The brunet could actually feel Levi's warmth from where he was sitting and it gave him goosebumps. “Can you... stand back?”

Levi blinked, his eyes lazily traveling from Eren's feet to his face. However, they stopped briefly at the ridiculous underwear and he raised a mocking brow.

“Could you be hard?” the dark haired man whispered, his grey eyes sparkling briefly in mirth.

“Oh god,” Eren whined while he hid behind his hands. “This _isn't happening._ ”

“You're right,” another voice approved sternly. “This isn't going to happen in my office. _Gentlemen_.”

Eren whined and didn't move an inch from where he was sitting. He could nonetheless feel Levi shuffle in front of him, his warmth vanishing and being immediately missed by the almost naked youth. The ghost of a hand caressed his cheek and Eren opened his eyes in shock but it was too late and he was left alone with Moblit.

“Right,” the latter commented with slightly blushed cheeks. “Let's never talk about this and get to work.”

Eren thanked him with a tiny smile.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“Okay,” Moblit began once he finished the habitual check-up of Eren's prosthetic limbs and had wrote done everything that had changed. “I'll get straight to the point, Eren.”

The college student bit nervously on his lips and felt Levi's hand grasp softly his shoulder. The brunet slightly relaxed and waited for the verdict.

“You grew out of your prostetic limbs so I'll have to command others. We'll have to discuss over their models. Do you want to keep using the Ossür model for your leg?”

Eren looked down at his clothed legs and sighed softly.

“I like the Ossür leg,” he admitted quietly. “But it stands out too much in summer and I hate the pitying stares whenever I go outside to run. Can I have one as efficient as Ossür but more...”

“I know,” Moblit smiled at him and wrote something in his notebook. “I'll send the check to your father so don't worry about the price. We both know that he has enough money to pay it.”

Eren reluctantly nodded.

“What about the arm?” the doctor asked once he had finished writing.

“I like it,” the brunet immediately answered. “When it was correctly adjusted, it was amazing and I could write with it too!”

“I know,” Moblit wrote it in his notebook and nodded to himself. “Myolectric prosthesis are a great leap in prosthesis. That one will take more time so I'll give you a better joint, is that okay with you?”

The brunet nodded with a bright smile. The doctor did the same and his eyes briefly glanced at Levi's stern but bored face, before they went back to Eren's smiling face.

“Now that this has been done,” Moblit announced while he put his notebook on his desk. “I'd like to talk about your worrying weight loss. You're nothing but muscles by this point, Eren.”

The college student tensed in his seat and did his best to avoid looking at the man sitting by his side. From the increasing bad vibes he was getting, Eren could already tell that Levi was pissed. More like mad.

' _What have I done to deserve this_ ,' the brunet thought with a moan creeping in his throat when he finally glanced at the dark haired man.

The latter glared at him, his grey eyes darkened into two gunmetal circles of pure scorn.

“Eren,” Levi hissed once they exited Moblit's office.

The brunet squeaked nervously.

“Follow me,” the adult scowled at him and took hold of the boy's sleeve before he pulled him towards the exit of the hospital. Moblit had assured them that the bill would be sent to Eren's father so they could already leave, something that Levi was going to do. Right now. His grip on Eren's sleeve tightened and he scowled even more when he felt the boy's bony wrist under the heavy sweater. “I'm getting you cake.”

“What?”

“You heard me!” Levi glared at the college student and pulled him in the crowded streets, uncaring of all the dirty bodies pressing against him. His mind was only focused on the doctor's words and on Eren's fragile health. “I'm getting you cake and not buts!”

And if Eren accepted, it wasn't caused by his duty of saving the world but instead of the instinctive like reaction that caused Levi's words.

“Yessir!”

“Stop it with the sir, I'm not that old.”

“Mikasa said that you were though.”

“Eren.”

“Yes?”

“Shut up before I make you regret ever saying those words.”

 

 

 **Days before the end of the world** **:** _781_.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **And in the next chapter** : Cake and Levi. Also, protectiveness and Eren falling in love with strawberries.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Since when did Eren get so good at flirting? Also, Levi's a sensible little heart, cut him some slack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My god, we actually got over the 150 kudos for this story. You're awesome and I'll do my best to not disappoint you.

Armin closed the door behind him and gave a wry smile to the professor Hanji, the latter was still hunched over their desk, fervently reading the blond's notebook and writing notes in their own sheets. The adult glanced at the college student and raised a brow, their curiosity kicking in when they noticed how the blond was still looking at the phone clutched in his hand and his worried face.

“Is there a problem?” Hanji asked while they wrote down the seer's sleep pattern. They could already see that the pattern had suddenly changed recently and that it was reaching a worrying curve. From what Armin had written, the seer was sleeping for almost half the day and had some ditz spell whenever they couldn't get their sleep outcome.

It was simply fascinating. And they really wondered if those results would be similar to the legalized ones.

“Not really,” Armin admitted reluctantly, his eyebrows furrowing while he slumped over one of Hanji's rocky chairs. The wood creaked under his weight and the blond immediately straightened his back. “There's someone following my friend and I don't really know how to deal with them.”

Hanji tilted their head and pursed their lips. From what they knew of Armin, the boy was smart, scarily so. And he fearlessly protected his seer friend, going to the point of meeting a governmental doctor just so he could check if something was wrong with his friend. Frankly speaking, Hanji liked Armin and didn't wish him any wrong doing. However, the boy knew of a seer and Hanji had sworn to their bossthat they would tell if they found another subject.

But Armin had already covered this by refusing to say the seer's name and even gender. The notebook itself only contained things concerning loss of weight but not the total weight, grow spurts without the actual size, and even the sexual orientation had been consigned without leaving a sole hint to the seer's gender.

Hanji shrugged and turned the page, their brown eyes swiftly running over Armin's angular and scratchy writing before they stopped over a sentence that surprised the professor.

“The seer doesn't have any sexual nor romantic life?” they asked as they looked at the blond.

The latter was still glancing worriedly at his phone, as if he was expecting a call. Hanji's question snapped him from his trance and Armin nodded slowly, his teeth softly nibbling on his lips while he looked for the correct words.

“During their teens,” he finally explained with a calm voice. “There were only hormonal mood swings but they never showed any hint of a sexual drive. However, they have recently showed interest in a long commitment with someone.”

“Suddenly?” Hanji repeated with a small frown. They scribbled something in their notes and sighed heavily. And just as suddenly as they had gotten serious, the professor looked at Armin with a pleading pout. “Armiiin, please! I want to meet your seer!”

“No,” the blond retorted swiftly. “They trust me and I'm not going to break that.”

“Still had to give it a try,” Hanji shrugged and then began to look in their notes, their greasy hair flopping over their intensively focused eyes. “Here! Take this and use it to help your _friend_!”

Armin blinked and had to take a step back so the professor's hand, which had been shoved at the blond's face, wasn't against his nose and he could see the card that they were trying to give him.

“What is it?” he asked with his brows raised in curiosity.

“A friend's number,” the brown haired searcher answered absentmindedly while they went back to the Ebook. “He's great at dealing with this kind of things. And he's trustworthy too.”

“Thank you.”

“You're welcome, _Armin_ ,” Hanji grinned at the blond boy and cocked their head, their glasses sliding a bit over their nose and glinting almost threateningly. “I wouldn't like to lose another subject so _make sure that nothing happens to them_.”

“Of course,” Armin suavely retorted, his blue eyes hardening while he stood up without stumbling over his feet like he'd done at the beginning of their meeting.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Eren sighed for what must have been the hundredth time since he had sat in the dingy tea shop that Levi had forced upon him. The man was sitting in front of him, his grey eyes glaring daggers at him from above his china cup of tea whenever the college student stopped eating his sponge cake. Something that was seriously getting over the brunet's nerves. Eren furrowed his brows, his cheeks puffed from all the cake that he refused to swallow (that was his third piece, the boy was getting tired of it) and he glared at the adult.

“Keep eating, Eren,” Levi hissed while he put down his cup.

The china made a small sound as it touched its plate and the dark haired man's glare increased when he noticed that the brunet had left more than half of his cake.

“It's rude to not finish his meal,” the older male added coldly.

Eren rolled his eyes and snorted loudly while he folded his arms over his chest with an annoyed pout. His manners were the only thing restraining from flipping the bird to Levi and then leaving the tea shop. That and the fact that the man seemed oddly fascinated by his fingers now that he had seen his prosthetic arm. Every time that Eren took the fork with his right hand to take a bite of his strawberry sponge cake, the adult's grey eyes widened slightly and followed with a disturbing intensity his hand until they ended over Eren's lips. Something that the brunet couldn't really understand.

Did Levi want some of his cake? If that was the case, why didn't he just ask so?

Eren huffed lightly and pushed the cake toward the other man, his eyes narrowing in a silent dare to Levi when the latter refused. They both glared at each other until Levi relented with a heavy sigh and stabbed the cake left with his own fork.

“I hate strawberries,” the dark haired man scowled as he munched over the cake. He swallowed with a grimace and was rewarded by Eren's wide grin.

“That's good to know,” the brunet retorted while his eyes shined with a bit of malice. He had some crumbles of his sponge cake at the corner of his lips and didn't do anything about it.

Levi frowned and quietly put down the fork before he wiped clean his chin with a serviette. His eyes narrowed while he observed silently the college student's pouty face and the older man sighed another time.

“I've angered you,” he stated. “Again.”

Eren rolled his eyes and thrummed his fingers on the table, his gloves cushioning a bit the sound. Like he'd expected, Levi's eyes followed the gloved fingers and the brunet clicked his tongue.

“Why are you acting like that?” the younger male asked, his eyebrows raising while he stared at the adult with an unwavering determination to know the truth.

“Acting like what?” Levi retorted, his lips thinning while his eyes fell on the crumbles over Eren's face. “Wipe your face, you look like a kid like that.”

“Don't avoid this question,” the brunet scowled and pursed his lips. “Also, I'm a kid compared to you.”

Levi growled and his hands grasped suddenly the end of the table, his nails scratching at the polished wood as he did so.

“Eren,” the man whispered coldly. “Act your age.”

“Then do it too,” the boy fired back just as coldly. “You're always blowing hot and cold over me. How the hell am I supposed to react?”

Levi's eyes narrowed threateningly and Eren briefly noticed that they had turned to their gunmetal color once again, before he heard it.

The predictions were raging around him, screeching at his ears and making his head pulse. It was almost like a heartbeat, the intensity of those predictions faintly receding before they came back stronger than ever. Eren gave out a small whimper and slumped over his seat, his eyes widening in horror while he watched everyone in the small tea shop turn to look at him, their faces expressing concern or curiosity.

 _'This man will die alone in January.'_  
_'This woman will cure her sickness in two years and five months.'_  
_'This boy will become a great basketball player in his third year of high school.'_  
_'If this man doesn't marry Eren Jaeger, the world will end in 781 days.'_

Eren gasped, his breath coming out short and fast, and he began to shake his head, his hands covering his ears while he clenched his eyes shut.

“Eren?”

 _'This little girl will discover a new element for her master thesis.'  
_ _'This man has two days left before he meets his best friend.'  
_ _'If this man doesn't marry Eren Jaeger, the world will end in 781 days.'_

“Eren!”

Eren didn't move from his spot, curling into himself and he faintly felt hands shaking him by his shoulders, trying to make him react. However, the predictions were going as strong as ever. Maybe too strong because he had his eyes closed and could still hear perfectly the predictions of every customer in the tea shop.

“Shit, not again!”

 _'This man will die alone in January the third, while protecting a kid from a falling tree. His last thoughts will be...'_  
_'This woman will cure her cancer in two years, five months, three days and fifteen hours. She'll wear blue when the doctor will tell her that she's cured.'_  
_'This boy will become a great basketball player in his third year of high school after breaking up with his girlfriend and swearing to only focus in his studies.'_  
_'If Levi Ackerman doesn't marry Eren Jaeger, the world will end in 781 days. And if they don't forgive their past, the world will end in 600 days.'_

Eren gasped in horror and pain when he felt a scorching pain over his neck and the young man fainted on the spot. But seconds before he succumbed to the darkness, the brunet saw dark grey eyes looking at him worriedly.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Levi scowled at himself when he felt the college student's body sag against him and he deliberately ignored the customer's eyes while he took the brunet in his arms. The boy wasn't really heavy and that increased his scowl.  
Eren was way too thin.

And the only one to blame for that was himself.

The dark haired man shook his head softly and put down the boy with the utmost care. The brunet was sagged over his chair, his head leaning over the back of it, his mouth slightly parted open while he gasped softly. However, his eyes stayed closed and his eyebrows were furrowed, as if he was fighting against his dreams.

Levi stretched his hand until it was hovering above the unconscious boy's parted lips. He could feel the brunet's breath warming the tip of his fingers and the dark haired man's lips slowly curled up before he quickly concealed his smile. But a shiver ran on his back, cutting swiftly through the short lived happiness, and the adult felt the short hairs in his neck prickle while he narrowed his eyes. He clenched his hand, recoiling from Eren's face and slowly turned around, his grey eyes scanning coldly the tea shop.

Levi hadn't chosen that tea shop for nothing, he was a frequent customer and as such, the man knew who were the regulars and who weren't. Like the person with their head covered by their hoodie sitting in the corner of the tea shop. From their stature, Levi deduced that it was a man. The latter was buff, his biceps stretching the sweater sleeves to its utmost capacities. The man was nursing some kind of hot drink, his bony hands curled around the cup of whatever he was drinking, but they never made a move to approach the cup to his lips.

Levi slightly tilted his head and glanced at Eren. The boy was still out cold (and it was normal, Levi had knocked him unconscious when he had seen that the brunet was having a panic attack and not breathing) and the dark haired man would have to deal with his body if he were to escape from the hoodied man. Levi forced himself to relax so he wouldn't alarm the stranger and stopped clenching his hands. He raised a hand to call the waitress and pay the cakes, reassuring her when she asked about Eren's condition and silently took the boy's arm (the real one, not the prosthetic) to put it around his neck. He put him in his back and scowled when he felt that the brunet's legs were touching the floor. That wouldn't do, the boy's prosthetic leg wasn't correctly tied to his knee, it could fall off. Levi took hold of both legs in his arms and sighed heavily, the walk to Eren's home would be a long one.  
Especially if that hoodied man kept following him.

Levi narrowed his eyes, thanking the waitress when she opened the door for him as his hands weren't free to do it, and almost scowled when he noticed that the man was calling another waitress over to pay for his drink. He needed to know if that man was following him or Eren and once he knew...  
Well, Levi wasn't a former thug for nothing.

The adult gritted his teeth when he felt Eren's soft breathing caress his nape and make goosebumps prickle his whole neck. If that creeper did something, anything, to the boy, Levi would never forgive himself.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

The officer Erwin Smith was a well known name. With his stature towering over the rest of the police officers, his respect of the rules and his superiors, and his sharp blue eyes, Erwin had always been well liked by his superiors and his sharp intellect had made his work way easier. But that didn't mean that he was hated or envied by his peers. Every police officer had came to the point where they respected the blond man and followed each and every of his advices, slowly making him become their captain even if he was a newbie.

All in all, Erwin's life in the police forces had been traced at the very moment he had aced his tests.

But then, the thing had happened. Another _natural_ disaster had happened and he had ended crushed under a beam, losing his right arm when he had been saved by his team. After this little incident, Erwin had been forced in a desk job, even when he assured his superiors that he was fine and that a prosthetic arm would be more than enough for him. But alas for him, his superior at that time, an old man named Pixis, had refused and the blond had resigned himself to a career of scratching reports and signing files.

In fact, he'd been exactly doing that when his phone rang and displayed a familiar name. The police officer furrowed his brows, his blue eyes widening slightly when he read the name that he hadn't heard since his years at the public college, and he ended accepting the call.

“ _ **...**_ _ **He's great at dealing with this kind of things.**_ _”_

“Hanji?” Erwin called with a slight amusement in his voice.

Trust the scientist to forget about their own call. He smiled in fondness while he remembered his old time friend, their glasses always askew on their crooked nose and the way their brown eyes shined whenever they talked about whatever had caught their attention. From what he remembered, Hanji had finished their studies two years before him (they were that smart) and had been selected for the extremely rare jobs of searching brains and their anomalies. Or like everyone else called those kind of jobs _witch hunting_.

“ _ **And he's trustworthy!”**_

“Hanji,” Erwin repeated with a sigh. “I can hear everything.”

“ _ **You're welcome,**_ **Armin** _ **,”**_ Hanji answered while stressing over the name. _**“**_ _ **I wouldn't like to lose another subject so**_ **make sure that nothing happens to them.** _ **”**_

“Got it,” the blond sighed and he quickly wrote the name in a post-it. “Anything else?”

He vaguely heard his old time friend sigh and something like paper flutter while the scientist probably ordered a bit their desk.

“ _ **A seer,”**_ Hanji finally talked to him. _**“It's a real seer, Erwin! And from what the boy, Armin Arlelt, has told me,**_ **th** **ey** _ **have already noticed him. You need to go and secure him.”**_

Erwin furrowed his brows and glanced at the bunch of files that he needed to do. Technically, he was still a police officer and was obliged to fulfill his task, even if it was scribbling every day the same thing. However, what Hanji asked him was already making his blood boil with adrenalin and excitation. The excitation of the chase and the possible threats that could appear. His eyes wandered to his prosthetic arm and he carefully rolled his shoulder, slowly smirking when the whole arm moved at his command and his prosthetic fingers twitched.

“I'll do it,” he swore. His eyes lightened as he said those words and the police officer almost grinned to himself.

He was back in the game.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

There were times where Eren woke up like those princesses in those old movies for kids, with a soft sigh and his eyes fluttering open while his lips stretched into a sweet smile. But most of the times, the boy woke up with a gasp, almost choking on his spit and grimacing with all the drool covering his cheeks. Without forgetting the times where he just fell from his bed and it woke him up when the coldness of his floor seeped through his thin sleeping clothes.

And today had been the latter.

Eren was startled awake and he rolled out of his bed, his forehead hitting quite harshly the ground while he hissed in pain. He faintly felt his two legs still hanging on the bed and furrowed his brows, trying to understand why he hadn't taken off his prosthetic leg. However, the boy forgot soon enough about that when he noticed the pair of grey eyes looking at him with a raised brow.

“Levi?” the brunet almost choked on his spit and he blinked quickly, chasing away the remnants of sleep while he tried to understand why the adult was hanging in his room.

A quick glance at the room told him that he wasn't in his bedroom but rather in a scarcely furnished room. His bed had been a couch and what had woken him was the big rays of sun that had fallen over his face, coming through the wide victorian windows.

“Finally awake,” the dark haired man commented while he softly put down his cup of tea.

Eren narrowed his eyes and ignored the insisting whisper of Levi's prediction while he tried to remember how he had ended sleeping in Levi's couch.

“What happened?” the brunet ended asking when he realized that he didn't remember anything at all after his appointment with Moblit and eating cake with Levi.

The latter was slightly frowning at him and glaring at his cup of tea. The man tilted his head, black strands of hair shielding his eyebrows while he sighed softly.

“You panicked and fainted in the middle of the shop,” he answered calmly.

“I did that?” Eren whispered with a puzzled face. He looked at the polished floor and furrowed his brows, thinking back at his memories of the tea shop. He had been arguing with Levi (no surprise there, they always were) when something had happened. Something big that had surprised him so much that he had lost his control.

And it suddenly hit him.

“Six hundred days,” the brunet widened his eyes in horror. He began to shake like a leaf, his nails digging into his soft flesh while the metallic ones scratched the floor, and his breath quickened until he began panting.

“Not again,” Eren faintly heard Levi moan and was startled when he felt the adult's warm hands cup his face and press against his cheeks until he was forced to pucker his mouth. “Stay with me, Eren.”

The brunet blinked and his fuzzy vision became once again clear, letting him see Levi's face from up close. He observed the pale face and thin lips, those dark eyelashes along with those heavy dark circles that were screaming proofs of the adult's lack of sleep.

“Are you with me, Eren?” Levi breathed out calmly, his thumbs caressing the brunet's cheeks in soft circles.

“I'm with you,” the latter answered with a small nod. “I'm fine, _I'm fine_.”

Levi made a small sound of disbelief but still let the boy go, his grey eyes following his movements until he was sure that Eren wouldn't fall again. Once he was reassured, the adult sat on the couch and patted the seat next to him to invite the brunet. Eren rolled his eyes, knowing that he wouldn't escape from Levi's interrogatory and he sat down with a heavy sigh.

“So,” the college student soon had more than enough of the heavy tension between the two of them and sighed. “What do you want to know?”

Levi blinked, his features schooled into his habitual bored face but Eren could see in his grey eyes that the man had been surprised by his bluntness. Good, that meant that they were standing in an equal footing.

“This was the second time you panicked with me,” Levi began, his voice almost deadpan and yet it made Eren wince. The way Levi's grey eyes had hardened while he said those words hurt. “Do I remind you of something... bad that happened to you?”

Eren blinked, surprised by the adult's question and he was also a bit puzzled by his words. Why would Levi remind him of something bad? Did he believe that seeing or talking to him could trigger something in Eren? But it was true that whenever he talked with the man, he sometimes ended panicked.  
Well, the first time had mostly been because he'd learned that he had to marry him. And the second... What happened with the second?

“Eren.”

Levi's voice cut through Eren's thought process and the boy blinked in surprise, his eyes widening while he looked at the adult's face and found wariness along with worry in his eyes. For a man with such a bored face, Levi was quite a considerate and caring person. It kind of warmed Eren's heart to know it.

“No,” the boy finally answered. “You don't remind me of anything, I just have those kind of attacks.”

Levi frowned, clearly not pleased by learning that Eren was frequently subjected to those panic attacks and he gritted his teeth. His hand cupped his chin and he used a finger to caress his thinned lips while he thought of his next words, his eyes glaring at the window. Meanwhile, Eren glanced at the glaring adult's face, searching for his eyes as they were the only thing that helped him know what were Levi's true feelings.

“Do you feel better?” the dark haired man suddenly asked.

Eren jumped, a little startled by Levi's question, and looked at his hands. They were still gloved and he was silently grateful to the adult for it. He preferred wearing gloves rather than having his prosthetic hand naked. Eren had always hated how pitying people were whenever they caught sight of his hands. He wasn't a liability or a weight to his friends, he'd made sure of that.

“Yeah,” he answered in a small sigh. “Sorry about what happened.”

“Don't stress over it,” Levi shrugged and glanced at his nails. “Or it'll constipate you.”

Eren snorted softly and had to cover his mouth with his hands before a stream of giggles came out, slightly muffled, of it.

“Seriously,” he shook his head and his eyes sparkled with fondness. “What is it with you and shitting?”

“It's a perfectly normal bodily function,” the adult retorted with a small huff. “I don't see why everyone ends so shocked about it. Everyone shits, even the Mayor.”

“Wow, way to crush my dreams,” Eren commented while he rolled his eyes. “And here I thought that the man only drank wine and as such didn't shit at all...”

Levi blinked, his face expressing pure surprise before a smug smile stretched his lips.

“I like you, kid,” he said with a slight nod.

It took some time but when the brunet finally processed what the dark haired man had said.  
Eren blushed beet red and the adult raised a brow, his smug smile morphing into a knowing smirk.

“Indeed,” Levi whispered. “I _quite_ like you.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Eren closed the front door and leaned against it with a heavy sigh. He could still feel how warm his cheeks were and he hid his face behind his gloved hands, moaning softly while he remembered how Levi's smile had tugged something in his chest. Or how those grey eyes had shined when the man had begun to tease him about his possible crush on him after saving from a panic attack for the second time.

Armin was _so_ going to kill him.

His moan turned into a whine and Eren shook his head while he remembered how Levi had held his wrist, his eyebrows furrowed and his lips thinned into a simple line while he told him about his stalker. They weren't really something new to him so Eren had just nodded when he had learned about it and thanked Levi. The man hadn't appreciated at all how he had reacted about the news and had all but ordered him to meet him the next day in another tea shop. Well, the brunet was lucky that Levi had accepted to postpone their meeting after his classes because the man had been pretty adamant in their _date_ (except that it wasn't a date per say, the man just wanted to check if he was still alive) being the next day.

“Eren?”

The brunet's whines stopped short and he slowly lowered his hands to look at his best friend. The blond was standing in front of him, his eyebrows furrowed his worry while he rubbed softly a smudge of ink running over his whole under lip.

“Hey, Armin,” Eren greeted him softly.

Armin seemed to pick up instantly that something wasn't going well with the boy because he immediately took Eren by the hand and forced him to sit in their couch while he went to fetch two mugs of coffee.

“Tell me everything,” the smaller boy told him while he gave him his mug.

Two hours later and another refill of coffee, Armin was able to piece back what had happened between Eren and Mikasa's uncle.

“So he knows that you're going after him,” the blond stated while he twirled his little spoon in his _café au lait_. “And he saw your stalker. We'll have to work on that case too,” he added with a stern glare.

Eren shrugged. Stalkers didn't really scare him, the only threat to his life were the government's hunters. Those were people that he really wished would never notice him. The way they always broke in their suspects' houses and just removed them from their lives without further notice just gave him goosebumps.  
Mostly because he was a probable victim. But his status as Grishia Jaeger's son was protecting him from harm and that also reminded him that he really needed to visit his father. The old man was alone now and enjoying his retirement in a farm, some company would brighten his days.

“Without forgetting the increase of strength of your ability,” Armin added with a pensive frown. He began to nibble on his spoon and sighed softly. “It always happen whenever you have a strong emotion near Levi, right? Is this why marrying him could save the world?”

Eren shrugged.

“You're so helpful, Eren, you've no idea,” the blond deadpanned.

The brunet almost shrugged but instead began to laugh loudly at his friend's sassy eye roll. They both laughed happily, trying to forget of the impending doom and on how a simple marriage would save them all.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

When their next date (Eren grimaced at that thought) came around, Armin had drilled into his brain everything that he had to avoid unless he wanted to scare away his future husband. They were all simple things but there were so many of them that the brunet ended with a killer headache, trying to remember which was authorized by the bossy blond and which wasn't.

“You know what?” Armin sighed as they got into the subway. The automatic doors closed with a soft hiss and the cabin began to move. “Forget everything and just act as always.”

“Like my hardheaded and angry self?” Eren retorted while he quoted his best friend's words.

“Yes, like that,” the blond nodded with a serene smile. “If Mikasa's uncle still wants to stay with you after having to run after your ass in a hospital, I guess that he already likes you more than enough.”

“You're so helpful, Armin,” the brunet imitated the blond and rolled his eyes. “You've no idea.”

“Go get 'em, tiger,” the smaller student chuckled while he pushed his friend once the doors opened. “And make sure that he gets a good show, okay?”

Eren sighed and nodded while he strutted into the station, his eyes looking at the panels and searching for the one Levi had told him. Once he found it, he followed the signals and ended into a busy shopping streets where a lot of high school students and business workers were walking around. It took him some time but Eren finally found the shop that Levi had written in his note and the brunet opened the door with an apprehensive gulp, his eyes widening in surprise once he got into the tea shop.

The first thing that greeted him was the soft aroma of tea leaves and pastries. The second being Levi's scowl.

“You're late,” the man told him while he wiped one of the tables with a white rag. In fact, the rag looked cleaner than the table and that was something to say as the table was sparkling clean. “Sit down, I'll get your tea.”

“Sure,” Eren nodded softly and took a seat, looking around him while he smiled softly.

There were flowers everywhere, in pots, hanging from the ceiling and even growing on the walls (or rather in a wooden fence against the wall) except at the back of the shop. Round tables were disposed in the tea shop and customers could be seen drinking their teas while they read or typed on their computer. But the best thing were the wide windows that let the sun come in the whole tea shop, warming the customers and making the plants grow stronger.

“Here you are.”

The click of the china against the table shook Eren away from his reverie and he blinked his eyes, briefly noticing the cup of warm tea before they settled on the man sitting in front of him with an angry frown.

“Thank you,” the brunet said curtly while he curled his hands around the cup of tea. Thanks to his gloves, the hotness of the cup didn't really faze him and he leaned over the table to appreciate the aroma of the tea. “Is this chamomile?”

Levi acquiesced, his face slightly relaxing before his frown came back stronger than ever.

“You were late,” the man accused him.

“My teacher had things to explain concerning our finals,” Eren shrugged and stretched a hand to take the sugar and plop two of them in the tea.

Levi wrinkled the tip of his nose when he saw how many sugar the brunet put in his tea and shook his head with some mutters about kids and sugar.

“Besides,” the college student added with an eyebrow raised daringly. “I didn't have your number to warn you...”

“Right,” Levi huffed and he leaned his elbows on the table. “If you wanted my number so badly, you could always ask Mikasa for it.”

Eren scoffed softly and took a small sip of his tea. He closed his eyes while he appreciated the taste of the chamomile infusion with some vanilla after-taste.

“But then,” he retorted lightly while he put down the cup. “It wouldn't be fun, Levi.”

The man slightly shivered and his grey eyes narrowed while they darkened a bit.

“And that would be such a pity,” Eren added while he slightly tilted his head. “Right?”

“ _Right_ ,” Levi breathed out. The dark haired man closed his eyes and took a deep breath while his hands clenched on the rim of his own cup of tea. Then, as if he hadn't shown any weakness at all, Levi opened his eyes and glanced at Eren. “You aren't eating,” he stated bluntly. “You like strawberries, right?”

Eren blinked and, mostly because he was accustomed to the Ackerman's roundabout ways, he quickly understood the adult's question.

“Of course,” he assured with a bright smile.

Levi hissed softly, his eyes widening while he hid the bottom of his face with his palm. The brunet looked at him with surprised eyes, noticing how the tip of the adult's ears were slightly turning red.

“... fucking cute,” the man muttered to himself.

Eren did his best to hide the blush that threatened to take over his whole face when he distinctively heard Levi's mutters and they both ended looking at their cups of tea. When the awkwardness became too much for the both of them, Levi stood up and took a deep breath.

“I'm going to get your cake,” he announced while he resolutely looked at the ceiling.

“Okay,” Eren nodded and stood up as well. “I'm going with you.”

Levi's face was the perfect painting of pure frustration and Eren found himself wondering if the man would make the same face in bed. That simple thought was more than enough to make his face turn cherry red.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“I'm so hungry,” Eld Jinn leaned his chin over the counter and sighed heavily. “I could eat a whole cake by myself!”

“Remember what happened the last time?” his co-worker, Petra Ral, reminded him with a small huff. “Mister Ackerman almost chewed your head off. Do you wish to go through that again?”

“Like you're the one to talk,” Eld retorted with an amused smile. “Didn't you get one of his tongue lashing the other day because your boyfriend's always visiting you during your working hours?”

“W-well, what can I do about that?” Petra stuttered while she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and went back to her pastry confection. “We met while I was working here!”

“How nice,” Gunther Shultz commented from his spot at the door of the kitchens, his brown hair similar to a hazelnut bobbing while he nodded. “I want a fiancee who goes out of her way and contacts a seer just to meet me...”

“Stop being jealous,” Petra chided him with a small frown. “Auruo just wanted to know if he deserved happiness and the seer told him to go here. That's it.”

“I wonder if that's what it really was,” Eld commented while he scratched pensively his beard. “By the way, does anyone know why the big boss did this?”

The blond pointed at the small strawberry shortcake and the two other shook their head in a negative answer.

“He just told me that it wasn't to be served to the customers,” Gunther shrugged and narrowed his eyes at the other man. “Don't tell me that you're planning on eating it?!”

“I don't want to die,” Eld rolled his eyes and cupped pensively his chin. “But why would the big boss make a cake when he hates strawberries?”

“Maybe it's love?” Petra chirped while she rolled the dough.

The three suddenly froze, feeling coldness prickle at their skin and they slowly turned to look at their back where the subject of their conversation was standing with a disapproving frown, next to a young man with brown hair and startling eyes.

“Eren,” Levi Ackerman, the feared owner of the _Big Ass Flower Everyday_ and renowned clean-freak, politely cleared his throat and ignored how his workers (more like his squad) were gaping at him like fishes out of the water. “Meet my squad. Eld.”

The blond raised a shaky hand and waved at the brunet. The latter seemed to understand the fear that coated the whole room and merely smiled at him.

“Gunther.”

The brown haired waiter swallowed loudly and nodded curtly his head, trying his best to avoid his superior's glaring eyes. Meanwhile, Eren smiled at him, his eyes expressing how nervous he was himself.

“And Petra.”

The only woman of the tightly knit squad squeaked nervously and looked down at her confections, preferring looking at them than at Levi's eyes which were promising her endless suffering.

“Nice to meet you,” Eren said with a small nod and a wide smile that brightened the whole room and chased away Levi's murderous aura. 

The three members of Levi's squad looked and nodded to each other. Their boss' crush was the epitome of innocence and obliviousness.

Levi's interest was more than obvious though. He was standing close to the boy, maybe even too close, and their arms were brushing against each other. Without forgetting the killer glare that the dark haired man sent to his three workers, expressing more than clearly his possessiveness.

Levi took the strawberry shortcake and soon enough was out of his squad's hair with Eren in tow.

“Three months before they get engaged,” Gunther suddenly said.

“Deal,” Petra immediately retorted. “One year before they get married.”

“Dibs for being their witness at their marriage,” Eld raised his hand and smirked smugly at the two others.

“Damn,” the young woman cursed under her breath. “If it comes to that, dibs for organizing their marriage!”

“Shouldn't be worrying about your own marriage?” Gunther pointed out before he quickly regretted his words when he got a mouthful of flour thanks to an irate Petra).

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Erwin made his best to look inconspicuous and widened his eyes when he finally got to see the face of the man he'd been stalking for the last day.  
The buff face, cropped blond hair and almost nonexistent eyebrows were enough to identify him. And if Erwin wasn't wrong, the tall man towering at the blond's side was another familiar face.

 _'But what kind of business would have Reiner Braun and Bertolt Hoover with a seer?'_ the blond wondered briefly before he was suddenly hit with the truth.

Why would two escapees from the government facilities for the talented search for a seer if it wasn't for the same reason they'd escaped?

Hanji needed to be alerted. Right now. And the seer too.

 

 **Days before the end of the world :** ****600 days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the next chapter, you'll learn that cherubs can be deadly. And that Mikasa ships it. Also, there'll finally be some explanations of the dystopian tag.
> 
> By the way, you're more than welcome to come and talk to me on my tumblr, [snarky-goldfish](snarky-goldfish.tumblr.com), I don't bite.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren snaps and Levi blushes.  
> (I should stop making summaries)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, remember that thing about "I swear that next chapter will explain everything"? It kind of works here. Kind of.  
> Also Eren has quite the temper and I really need to make a whole chapter with Levi's point of view.

Mikasa shuffled slightly on her feet, her hand resting over the door handle while she furrowed her brows and tightened her hold on her bag. Behind her, Armin nodded with a determined frown, his pale lips slightly parted while he worriedly gnawed on them.

“Do it,” the blond told her. His blue eyes darkened while he took a deep breath and then added, “I know that it can end badly but we have to do it. Mikasa, please.”

The young woman closed her eyes and sighed softly, her fingers grasping the handle before she harshly turned it and opened the door. A bell rang lightly in the otherwise silent shop and the dark haired girl straightened her back when she noticed that her uncle was cleaning one of the tables, his back towards her. She pursed her lips and forced herself to stay quiet, her eyes quickly glancing behind her and looking at her two friends. Armin was giving her two thumb-up, his lips swollen from being bitten so harshly from his worry, while Eren was scowling and glaring at the sidewalk, his hands hidden in the frontal pocket of his favorite hoodie. Reassured that she wasn't alone in this, Mikasa took a deep breath and finally turned to look at her uncle.  
She wasn't really surprised when she noticed that the man was looking at her with a frown. He had put his rag in the back pocket of his black trousers and was softly dusting the front of his white waiter apron, his head cocked while one of his eyebrows was raised inquisitively.

“Don't you have school today?” her uncle asked her while he slightly moved his chin to point at a chair.

Mikasa followed the silent order and quickly sat, putting her bag under the table so it wouldn't hinder her, before she shrugged and folded quietly her hands over her lap, straightening any creases on her running pants and making sure that the bulge couldn't be seen.

“I don't have classes on Thursdays. Neither do Armin and Eren,” she answered while she gave another glance at the two boys waiting for her outside. But her eyes were quick enough to catch her uncle's surprised and someway elated face.

 _Oh_. Mikasa blinked in surprise and almost forgot of Armin's plan. Because her uncle, the one who had never really showed any interest on anything or anyone, had actually looked surprised and pleased to hear about Eren. Without even seeing the boy.

Armin was going to have a field day if he ever heard about this.

The young woman carefully selected her next words, knowing that the rest of Armin's extremely well thought plan depended on it. She cocked her head, her grey eyes similar to her uncle's narrowing slightly while she feigned boredom and some amused annoyance. She glanced at her nails, noticing absentmindedly that she needed to cut them if she didn't want to break one in her next volleyball training, and waited patiently for her uncle to react to her words. And, just like Armin had told her, she heard the rustling of her uncle's clothes while the man folded his arms and sighed heavily.

“And?” her uncle shuffled slightly on his chair until he was able to see the two college students standing outside of his shop.

Mikasa carefully hid a smile behind her hands and raised a brow when she met Levi's questioning gaze. The man's scowl had vanished and the young woman knew that the presence of a jittery brunet had something to do with that. She leaned back on her seat and looked behind her, meeting Armin's curious eyes and the girl raised a hand in a simple greeting, silently confirming that the first part of his plan had gone without a hitch. The blond smiled at her, his whole face brightening before he turned toward Eren and shook him softly by his shoulder. The other boy looked up, his scowl slightly slipping from his face and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion before a slight blush began to blossom on his cheeks while he heard Armin chatter about what had just happened. With his running pants stretching quite nicely over his legs, and his white hoodie that almost dwarfed him in his ample sleeves and covered his bottom, Eren looked positively adorable and, Mikasa was pretty sure of it as she had already caught some people giving him stares, ravishing.

The young woman looked back at her uncle and hid her smug smile when she saw how his eyes had creased at their corner and the way his lips had thinned. Without forgetting the way his grey eyes had darkened.

“We decided to go out and jog around the town,” Mikasa finally answered when she was satisfied with her uncle's reaction to Eren's looks. “Eren needs to get back in shape and, well, Armin's mostly here to reassure him in his fragile self-esteem. It seems that I'm way too fast for a normal college student.” She shrugged and then briefly glanced at her nails before she looked back at her uncle. The man was slightly pursing his lips, his eyes drilling holes at the glass separating the shop from the outside, probably wishing it didn't exist so he could be closer to Eren. Or he was just annoyed because she was making him waste his time. But whatever was the reason behind his glare, Mikasa had to follow Armin's plan to a tee. Mostly because she was sure that it would end well. “Except that Armin needs to be watched attentively because he has asthma and that I can do that while also looking over Eren. And that's mostly why I decided to annoy you today. Didn't you say the other day that you were feeling restless? Come run with me, uncle.”

Mikasa heard her uncle sigh and she looked at him, her eyes never leaving his own while she didn't blink. She had to succeed in this.

“I've got work, Mikasa,” her uncle answered reluctantly while he stood up. He walked towards the kitchen and then stopped short, his head hung low while he shuffled his feet. “I can just go and run, my clothes would get sweaty and you know that I hate it.”

' _Got you_ ,' the young woman smirked and then threw her bag at her uncle's feet. The man blinked and scowled when he recognized the brand and from where she had taken it.

“Can't Petra and the rest of your team work without you during some hours?” she inquired with a fake innocent voice.

“What can't I do?” Petra's head peeked from the corner of the kitchen door and Levi sighed heavily.

Meanwhile, Mikasa smiled as she met the ginger haired woman's gaze. The latter walked toward the two Ackerman and stood in front of her boss, her brown doe-like eyes widening while she glanced from the smiling woman to the frowning man. Then, she looked at the window and, just as she caught sight of the blushing brunet, connected the dots.

“Answer's still no,” Levi retorted while he shifted his weight over his right leg and glared at his employee.

Petra grinned at him and folded her hands behind her back while she leaned toward her boss, her brown eyes sparkling with mirth.

“Could it be that you're planning to play hooky, sir?” she asked and was rewarded by Mikasa's smile widening.

“No,” the dark haired man answered curtly.

“Yes,” his niece immediately replied while she put her hands over her hips and raised her chin. “You will.”

“Mikasa, don't make me repeat,” her uncle hissed through his gritted teeth.

Petra glanced at the two Ackerman and then at the window, where Eren was still waiting in the cold. The brunet's nose was slightly turning red at the tip and he was rubbing his arms through his way too big hoodie. The young baker tilted her head, looking back at the two arguing Ackerman and then at the shivering brunet. She sighed softly before the corner of her lips curled as she pictured her boss' reaction if she were to point out that his beloved brat (Eld's words, not hers) was getting cold outside.

“Sir?” Petra cleared nervously her throat and did her best to not take a step back when her boss glared at her. He was seemingly losing his argument with his niece and hadn't appreciated her interruption. That made her rethink of her idea and she decided that it'd be wiser to actually let Mikasa do the dangerous things and just use a safer method. “Whatever it is that Mikasa needs, I'm sure that we can handle the shop for a couple of hours. We didn't burn the house last week, right?”

Levi clicked his tongue in annoyance and Mikasa gave him her best smug look. The man sighed and finally shook his head in defeat.

“Very fucking well,” he growled as he took the bag and stalked into the kitchen. He passed in front of Eld and Gunther, the two were idly sitting on two stools and salivating in front of the cheesecake Petra had been making before she'd left. “Stop twiddling your thumbs and go clean the room, it's filthy!”

“Yessir!”

The two men immediately answered and jumped to run and fetch the cleaning tools like a well-oiled machine, stopping nonetheless to glance at each other with a surprised look. The rush hour wouldn't be before at least two hours from now so their boss' sudden bad mood (normally caused by filthiness in his surroundings) was unexplained and really weird. Until they met Petra and saw her wide smile.

“Don't tell me it's his beau,” Eld sighed and he rubbed his forehead tiredly. “When is he coming?”

Gunther groaned and hurried to the front of the shop, he could already remember the last time their boss' boyfriend had visited the shop. Levi had made him clean every creak on the floor and dust with a handkerchief every leaf in the whole shop. That wasn't something that he wished to go through again but, from what he had seen in Petra's bright smile, the boy was the reason behind Levi's sudden bad mood.

“He's already here,” the ginger haired woman answered before she cleaned attentively her hands and then stepped back to her confections. “The boss just went to change.”

“Change?” Gunther stopped cleaning frenetically the floor and hurried back in the kitchen while Eld did the same. “Why? Who doesn't like the waiter uniform?”

“I don't know,” Petra shrugged and cracked two eggs at the same time. “His niece is waiting for him though.”

“So Eren's Mikasa's friend,” Eld cupped his chin pensively and cocked his head. “I guess that it means that they met thanks to her. Do you think she's against their couple?”

Petra pursed her lips, remembering how the dark haired girl had smiled at her when she had butted in and how her smile had turned devilish when Levi had relented.

“Maybe,” she answered with a small shrug and she simply stopped. Her eyes widened in surprise and the two men turned to look at whatever had shocked her before they froze.

“Gunther, Eld,” Levi snapped while he closed the restroom door behind him.

“Yessir!” the two men snapped to attention and Petra had to bite her lips to refrain from giggling. Eld and Gunther had almost saluted their boss like some kind of army commander.

“I'm leaving for the day,” Levi tersely explained while he rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms. His thin shirt stretched over his biceps and Petra looked insistingly at the cheese, refusing to let the rising blush expand over her cheeks. “Eld, you know where the key is. Gunther, make sure that nothing gets dirty. And Petra...”

“Yes?” the ginger haired raised her eyes and gulped when she saw that her boss was standing in front of her, his white shirt stretching almost obscenely over his pectorals thanks to his arms folded over his chest. Though what made her really gulp was the scorching glare.

“Be careful,” her boss whispered coldly before he left the kitchen without turning back.

Petra whined softly while Gunther and Eld exchanged looks of worry.

“What did you do to him?” the hazelnut haired man asked with a small frown. “Did you sell his favorite tea? Spill it in the sink?”

Petra merely shook her head and took a deep breath.

“I took one for the team,” she answered before she went back to her cheesecake. “And I'm sure that Mikasa'll save me.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“That woman is a hero,” Armin muttered to himself while he rubbed his cold hands and blew softly on them. “A hero!”

“She just told Levi to go with us,” Eren shrugged and rubbed his nose with the back of his gloved hand. He was slightly shivering as well and couldn't wait to start running, even if it meant slipping over the dead leaves and falling all in front of Levi's cold eyes. But that was Armin's plan so he wasn't going to protest. Not when it was the only thing that could help him save the world.

“Eren,” Mikasa rolled her eyes and took out her handkerchief to give it to her brother figure. “It's my uncle.”

The brunet grimaced and accepted reluctantly the dark haired woman's handkerchief, muttering a small thanks. He shifted his weight, his lips stretching when he felt that his two legs weren't tired nor shivering and stretched his arms above his head with a small hum. Today was a really nice day, the weather was not that cold but with a crisp wind, he was wearing his favorite hoodie (and therefore going against Armin's order to always be dressed sharply) and his best gloves. They had been a present from his father and were made of the finest and softest leather. Except that Eren didn't wear them frequently as they were way too high maintenance and he hated cleaning them. (And as a college student, he didn't really have the money for a weekly dry cleaning)

And, just as his thoughts were focusing on his finances and on his next job, the bell rang sharply and startled him. Eren blinked in surprise, his eyes traveling from Mikasa's smug smile and Armin's shy expression before they ended on a rather grim face.

“Oh,” the brunet exclaimed softly before he shook his head and stretched his hand toward the dark haired man for a handshake. “Good morning, Levi.”

The adult glanced at his hand, his eyes narrowing slightly at the leather glove and then going back to the college student's face. The latter cocked his head, his lips slightly parted open while he tried to understand why did Levi's scowl increase at the sight of his hand. Was it the glove?  
Eren reluctantly took back his hand and tried to hide it in his hoodie stomach pocket. But Levi had been faster than him and the man took his wrist with a small click of his tongue. The brunet widened his eyes in surprise, feeling the strong and yet surprisingly soft grasp of the black haired man's fingers over his wrist. Levi tugged at the boy's wrist, his lips thinning while he glared at his own fingers, and suddenly let go of the brunet's arm with a small huff. Left speechless by the sudden action, Eren merely stood with his mouth gaping at the adult while his two best friends observed with wide smile.

In fact, Armin almost raised his arms to the sky with a gleeful shout but refrained from doing it. It wouldn't do if his joy broke the nice ambiance between the two males. Thoughts of the next part of the plan ran through his mind and the blond nodded to himself. While the hardest part of today's plan had gone without a hitch (he had to thank Levi's coworker for that), there was the most important thing left.

Actual running.

Armin groaned under his breath and patted discreetly his pocket to make sure that his inhaler was there. Reassured by its presence, the boy looked up and met Mikasa's eyes. The girl had been looking at him with a slightly worried face, probably wondering if he'd be able to go through the next phase. However, Armin was nothing if not thorough. The blond nodded, a confident smile on his lips while he tried to swallow the rising panic that had began at the mere thought of running. He still had some nightmares of the last time they had decided to go on a jog.

Eren was just a running hazard and they all knew it.  
However, Levi didn't and, if Armin was right (and he was always right), he'd soon find out in the best way how bad Eren's balance could become if slippery leaves were involved.

“Uncle,” Mikasa's soft voice cut through the heavy silence and the three men looked at the young woman. “This is Armin and I believe that you already know Eren?”

The adult nodded curtly and Armin sighed softly.

' _And now for the hard part_ ,' he moaned internally.

The blond straightened his back and took a sheet of paper from his pocket, smoothing any crease with the pad of his thumb. He coughed softly and didn't wait for the three to look at him, already knowing that Eren and Mikasa would follow his words.

“This is the route,” he explained softly, his finger stopping briefly on a cross that indicated Levi's shop and then traveling through the paper before it stopped on the other cross. “We'll go through Karanese Avenue and then turn at the Klorva park. From there, we'll go through the Trost shopping street and stop at our apartment. I think that it's close to your home, sir?”

“Call me Levi,” the adult corrected him with a small shrug. “Seems easy enough...” Levi stopped talking and his eyes narrowed while he glanced at the obvious detour that Armin's route did with the Klorva park. That path would be uphill and way longer than if they were to take the straightest route by the Shiganshina shopping street. Except that it _was_ the Shiganshina street. Levi sighed and looked from the corner of his eyes at the brunet. The latter was shuffling behind his niece, rubbing his arms while groaning about the weather and how he would end up slipping over nothing. He didn't really look aggravated though and the dark haired man wondered if he had been the one who had asked to avoid the Shiganshina street. It wouldn't hurt Levi if he were to ask about it but the mere idea of actually hurting the boy was enough to stop him from asking. However, he could always ask it to the blond pipsqueak without the brunet hearing it. Levi leaned closer to the blond kid and put his hand on his shoulder, startling the boy who jumped in surprise and looked up at him (and that was quite a nice change from the habitual people towering around him) with wide (and slightly fearful) blue eyes. “Why did you take the Klorva park if you're asthmatic?” Levi asked with a frown. “It would be better for you if you avoided all the pollen shit in the park and went through another shopping street.”

Armin opened his mouth, ready to protest and explain how bad of an idea it would be, but he refrained from doing it. After years of dealing with Mikasa and Eren's short tempers, the blond had quickly become a master at dealing with irascible people. And Levi had his place in that category. More like a throne actually. So, in lieu of answering with a lengthy explanation of every little fault in the Shiganshina street (and there were quite a bunch) as well as Eren's bad history with Shiganshina, Armin merely gave the dark haired man a tight-lipped smile and shrugged.

“Eren doesn't like it there,” the blond said, his eyes deliberately glancing at his best friend, and approving silently when he caught the brunet smiling softly at Mikasa while rubbing his red cheeks. She'd probably pointed out how weird Levi's handshake had been. Armin looked back at Levi and almost smirked when he saw that the man was also watching Eren, his grey eyes softening progressively while he observed the brunet talk animatedly with his niece.

But Levi seemed to notice Armin's gaze and he swiftly put back his bored mask, his eyes hardening while he briefly glared at the blond and clenched his hands into fists.

“He doesn't like to remember the earthquake then,” the man commented softly before he walked toward his niece and chided her about not doing the proper stretching before jogging.

Meanwhile, Armin looked at Levi's back with a frown, his teeth biting harshly on his under lip while he went over the man's last words. How did Levi know about the earthquake? Eren downright hated talking or even mentioning that event and Armin was a hundred percent sure that his best friend hadn't talked about the Shiganshina earthquake with Levi around him. Hell, he hadn't even done it with Armin and they were friends since they were six!

Maybe was it time to use Hanji's friend and look a bit over Levi's past.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Running wasn't really that bad. Really. In fact, Eren actually liked the strain in his leg, the way his lungs slightly burned with each inspiration, the way his heart always seemed to beat faster and stronger when he turned at a corner and Levi's hand straightened him by taking his forearm and slightly pulling him toward the adult.

Well, that last fact may actually be why Eren was quickly finding himself loving jogging.

They had begun their jog slowly, running at a slow pace so Armin could warm up correctly and not have to stop and take his inhaler at each corner of every street they passed. In fact, Mikasa had seemed almost glued to the blond's side and had made sure since the very beginning that her friend wasn't wheezing from an imminent attack. Something that also seemed to give a lot of “alone time” between her uncle and Eren. Not that the latter was going to complain as he was still a bit shocked over the way that white shirt stretched over Levi's chest.  
He had never expected his future husband to be so packed.

The turn between the Karanese Avenue and the Klorva park came up and Eren unconsciously slowed down when he saw the familiar building of the research department. Those had been installed by the Mayor after the third wave of natural disasters, three years after Eren's birth. There were rumors about the experiments going on in that building, saying that the people working there were pure butchers that loved to cut their subjects' cranium and observe their brain seep through the cracks. Something that Eren knew was pure bullshit as his father had been one of those researchers and the only thing the man had done was find a new kind of transplant. And, while his father hadn't told him from where he had found those extremely adaptable transplant cells, Eren believed that his father wasn't a butcher.

Like every time since they had begun jogging, Levi's hand took his forearm and made sure that he didn't slip over nothing, pulling him softly toward the slope leading to the Klorva park. Its entry was near the Shiganshina shopping street and Eren did his best to avoid looking at the paved street and its colorful shops. He could already remember his mother's cheerful voice whenever they walked through that street, how she would point out any good sales or the way she always ruffled his hair when he told her that he was old enough to walk without holding her hand. Eren thinned his lips and his strides decreased slightly while he began running through the slope, Levi's hand still over his forearm. The man wasn't pulling him nor grasping his forearm like whenever he feared the brunet would slip and fall. He was just holding his arm. Levi's hand slowly slipped over Eren's forearm and ended at his wrist, his fingers softly holding it. The brunet briefly closed his eyes and tried to convince himself that his heart was beating fast because he was running.

“You alright there?” Levi asked him, his voice slightly breathless and it surprised Eren because the man hadn't showed any hint of tiredness during their run.

“I'm alright,” the brunet answered while they left the Shiganshina street behind them. “Thanks.”

Levi's face twisted into something that Eren couldn't decipher and the man sighed heavily before he let go of his wrist and put some distance between them.

“You've always been shit at lying,” the dark haired man tersely commented, his eyes glaring at the brunet, and he quickened his strides.

Eren frowned, watching Levi's back while the other kept running in front of him, and clenched his hands into fists. That sentence had sounded way too familiar and Levi had looked way too concerned for it to be a coincidence.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

_The little boy was gasping for air, the heavy dust slowly settling on his broken body. He could faintly see tiny particles of dust dancing above and taking a nice shade of red when they touched his body._

“ _Eren?! Eren, stay with me!”_

_He looked up and tried to smile at the person. The latter seemed kind of worried but he couldn't really know about it. His vision was kind of hazy. However, he could hear their prediction and they were beautiful._

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Hanji frowned, their eyes going over and over one of the lines in the little notebook. They pursed their lips and growled, throwing away their notes while they began to twirl in their chair, head leaning back against the chair while they tried to think of their next action.

From what Armin, that sweet but ignorant little blond, had written down, the seer was reaching their breaking point. Hanji had never had access to the former seers' files in their previous researches but, now that they were finally on a tangible lead, they had to. That seer's prediction were one hundred percent accurate and they were getting more and more precise. However, it was slowly ruining their life and, from what Hanji had calculated with the seer's growing need to sleep and loss of weight, that person didn't have much to live if they were left alone.

Hanji gave them two years, nothing more, until they broke down and died.

That is, unless the seer was taken in one of the government facilities and properly cared for. Maybe with constant muscle relaxants injected in their system, or some kind of other drug, with that kind of treatment, that seer would get to live four more years. And the government would also be able to get accurate predictions out of it. All in all, it seemed the perfect plan.

Except that it wasn't. That kind of treatment would seem inhuman and that seer hadn't been taken by the government at the cradle, meaning that they would react like any other human in that situation.

Hanji sighed heavily and flopped over their desk, their greasy hair falling all around them while they thought of their other plan. Not telling the authorities of that seer would be treason at its highest rate and they would be risking their life if they were to follow that plan. Also, they wouldn't have access to their instruments or drugs if the seer's life were to be endangered by the constant stream of predictions. Without forgetting that Hanji would have to sneak around to find some information about the previous governmental seers and the cause of their death.

Hanji suddenly sat back in their chair and grinned like a mad scientist when they were hit by an idea. They could always get someone else to do the sneaking and in the meantime work on studying the seer's decreasing life force and find how to keep them alive.

Yes, that was quite the nice plan. Hanji nodded to themselves and stood up, throwing their jacket on their shoulders before they stalked out of their office, Armin's notebook preciously stocked in their breast pocket while all their notes about the seer were hidden amidst the mess on their desk.

Hanji greeted their secretary with a cheerful voice and skipped toward the elevator with a wide smile, their brown eyes narrowed almost coldly once the man couldn't see their face.

Now, they just had to find that sweet but ignorant little boy's number.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

When they stopped jogging and waited for Armin and Mikasa (they had lost sight of them somewhere around the Karanese Avenue), Eren hadn't been that surprised by the tenseness exuding from Levi's body. The man had decided to run in front of the brunet from the Klorva park to his apartment and had stayed like that until the end. However, whenever Eren had slipped over dead leaves and lost his balance, he'd always found himself colliding with Levi's back, his gloved hands tightly holding on the black haired man's shoulders (and they had been as muscled as they had looked with that white shirt highlighting every curve). Even when Levi looked to be meters ahead from the brunet.

Thus why Eren was thoroughly confused by Levi's actions.

The man had suddenly told him that he sucked at lying (something that Eren had known since his childhood. His ears turned red whenever he lied so he had resigned himself from a life lacking any lies) and then had refused to talk to him or even run next to him. While he still did watch over him and made sure that he didn't hurt himself falling.

Seriously, Eren was confused.

“How's your leg?” Levi suddenly asked him.

The brunet blinked, trying to understand how the man could go from ignoring him at caring about his leg. If Levi kept acting like that, the boy would end with a whiplash. And like every time Eren had been confused with someone's actions with him, the college student felt anger burn its way in his chest. The brunet took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes, glaring at the adult while he clenched his hands into fists. He remembered Levi's glare when the man had pointed his bad lying skills and scowled angrily at him.

“Won't you stop with that!” Eren's patience snapped and he watched how the dark haired man looked surprised at his sudden accusation.

“Doing what?” Levi asked back with a raised brow.

“This!” the brunet almost shouted and he growled while he turned around to glare at his door. Armin was the one with the key and he was stuck waiting with Levi. The latter's prediction was buzzing annoyingly at his ears, reminding him constantly that they were to end married in less than three years, and it wasn't helping calm down. Not with Levi looking at his back with a surprised face. Eren furrowed his brows and turned around to look at the adult, confirming his suspicion. The man had been looking at him with a surprised face.

“And what am I doing?” Levi insisted while a frown made its way on his face. The man was almost glaring at him and he was stamping his foot impatiently with his arms folded over his chest. That actually made his biceps more visible and Eren groaned, raising his eyes to the sky so he wouldn't have to look at that cursed white shirt and annoying scowl.

“You're always doing it!” he accused before he glared back at the man. Grey eyes darkened angrily and Eren ignored the sudden and eerily familiar prickle of fear that those eyes provoked in his mind. It was more than time that he put his foot down on this subject. “You're always acting like a prick, insulting me or belittling me, and then you're suddenly all cuddles and rainbows!”

“I never did that,” Levi scowled and looked almost disgusted when he added, “I'm not _cuddly_.”

“Of course you aren't!” Eren retorted with an annoyed huff. “You're a fucking walking prick always looking at my face like it disgusts you or my hands like they are the grossest thing ever!” the brunet growled and ran his hand angrily through his hair, pushing back some sweaty strands until his forehead was uncovered. He glanced at the adult and another growl ripped through his chest. “See!” he accused while he rolled his eyes. “You're doing it again!”

Levi blinked, a faint redness coloring his cheeks (probably caused by his anger, Eren thought), and his eyes suddenly widened. Eren watched how the pinprick pupil steadily dilated, and nervously shuffled his weight over his best leg when he noticed that the dark haired man had stopped glaring at him. In fact, Levi's face had lost all kind of anger or annoyance and he was looking at him with an amazed expression.

“Shit, Mikasa was right,” the man whispered, his voice almost reverent.

“Oh, no!” Eren barked at him, pointing his finger at his chest and actually hitting it softly. “Don't even think of bringing her in this argument! This is between you and me!”

“Shit,” Levi repeated, looking amazed and somewhat chagrined. “She was right, you really suck at flirting.”

That was the last straw for the brunet's frazzled nerves.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“So,” Armin panted softly and he took out his inhaler. He had stopped jogging hours ago and was still panting. Seems like he was due for some sport if he didn't want to die early thanks to his recluse like life. “what about the first rule?”

Eren scowled from behind his bag of frozen peas and ignored the blond's insisting gaze. Then, as he felt that Armin wouldn't let go of that subject, the brunet sighed heavily and pouted at his knees.

“I forgot about it,” he muttered.

“Right,” the blond commented with a small sigh. “At least we are now sure of Levi's feelings...”

Eren moaned and he flopped on his bed, his bag of frozen peas slipping from his weak grasp and revealing his busted lip. The brunet's moan got muffled when Armin threw a pillow at his face and the boy did nothing to avoid it. His face covered by the pillow, Eren waited for Armin's rant. Except that it never came. The brunet peaked an eye open and glanced at the blond, surprised by his silence and he quickly regretted it when he found himself with a handful of Armin's face next to his.

“Well done, Eren,” the blond smiled brightly at the other boy and ruffled his hair. “With this, the second phase of my plan can begin.”

“Huh?” the brunet blinked slowly, his busted lip protesting when he tried to speak and he quickly put back the bag of frozen peas against his mouth. “But I fucked up, right?”

“Nah,” Armin shrugged and smirked while he began to nibble on his red pen. “That rule was just to make sure that you'd actually snap and scream at him. I needed to confirm whether you had to do the romance or he would be up to romance you by himself.”

“What?!” Eren exclaimed as he rolled out of his bed, flailing his arms in panic and making his frozen bag slap his best friend. “But he hates me!” the brunet furrowed his brows and his face turned sullen. “And he told me that I suck at flirting...”

“Well, he isn't wrong,” the blond commented with a delighted smile. “And that also confirms that my plan was a success.”

“How come?” the brunet mumbled with a confused face. “He told me that I _suck_ _at_ _flirting_ , Armin!”

“Eren, please,” his best friend retorted with an annoyed roll of his eyes. “If you hadn't been that fascinated by Levi's shirt, you'd have realized that he popped a boner when you were arguing...”

Armin sighed heavily and fetched the bag of frozen peas, grimacing when he felt its wetness over his hand and then threw it at Eren's face. The latter didn't react, his mouth gaping and his eyes opened wide. The blond shrugged and decided to actually do his homework in lieu of devising another plan to save the world. Some time passed and Armin furrowed his brows, something was missing. He turned around to look at Eren, convinced that the boy had something to do with this unsettling feeling, and promptly panicked when he saw the brunet's cherry red face.

“Eren! BREATHE!”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

The next time Eren met Levi hadn't actually been planned.

Well, to be honest, Eren had been avoiding Levi like the plague and had made sure that every call always ended in his answering machine. Yes, that was quite coward of him to avoid the man like that but the brunet couldn't gather the strength to answer one of his calls. And meeting him face to face was purely impossible. Eren was pretty sure that his face would combust if he were to see Levi's face and remember about Armin's words. In fact, the blond had told him to keep avoiding the man until he was able to talk about Levi without blushing beet red and splutter nervously. As for now, it didn't look like it would happen soon. More like never, actually.

Eren groaned softly, his cheeks turning once again cherry red and he tried his best to not wriggle on his seat. He was in the middle of an important lecture at his college and the teacher had already told them that he expected a dossier about this lecture. However, with the insisting memory of Levi's slightly blushing cheeks and Armin's amused words in his mind, Eren couldn't really be attentive. Not when the students' predictions around him were nagging him constantly. They weren't as annoying as that time in the tea shop with Levi though.  
And here he was, thinking about Levi once again.

Eren groaned weakly and rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand, his eyes almost glaring holes at the speaker while he tried his best to focus on the lecture. The whispers of the students' predictions lost some of their intensity and the brunet sighed in relief. Finally, some kind of break from those insisting whispers. Like that time with Levi in the subway.

The brunet's forehead hit harshly his desk and he ignored the other students' curious gazes. This was ridiculous, why was he so obsessed with Levi?

Finally, the lecture ended with Eren sighing in relief. He hadn't really taken notes of it but he knew that Franz would give him his if he were to ask him. He always did, saying something about owing him one. Whatever that could mean. The brunet packed all his stuff and took his messenger bag, his shoes squeaking on the tiled floor while he power-walked to the door. Once he was outside and far away from the stuffy lecture room, Eren sighed heavily and smiled softly as he thought of Armin. The blond had promised him to eat lunch together in the cheap but quaint steak house, and Eren was famished. The brunet walked with a skip in his steps and he almost hummed to himself when he got in the steak house and noticed his best friend's backpack. He walked to Armin's table and promptly sat in front of him with a wide smile.

“Heyyy,” Eren moaned weakly while he looked at his friend with slightly hooded eyes (he hadn't gotten a good night of sleep since the Levi accident). “You've no idea how much I missed you!”

It was then that Eren actually noticed who was sitting in front of him. And that Armin was sitting in the table at his right with a scared face. The brunet's happy and quite tired self vanished like snow under the sun and he immediately scowled while he glared at the dark haired man sitting in front of him.

“What the fuck are you doing here,” Eren growled.

Levi looked slightly caught off guard, his eyes slightly widened while his lips were parted open in previous surprise (caused by Eren's hooded eyes and moan). But he quickly recovered and frowned at the brunet.

“Language,” he chided while he folded his arms over his chest.

“Like I give a shit,” the brunet retorted and he stood up, a hand over his face to hide his creeping blush, before he rushed out of the steak house. All in all, their interaction had lasted five seconds and Eren congratulated himself for actually speaking without spluttering or blushing like some kind of moron. Well, there was still the little problem of his less than stellar behavior with Levi but Eren was pretty sure that the man could forgive him. After all, he'd done worse with him.

Actually quite happy with himself, Eren walked back to the campus and glanced at his watch, clicking his tongue softly when he noticed that he had an hour left before his next class. He could go to the canteen and fetch some sandwich before though. The brunet nodded to himself and patted his thigh to check if he still had his wallet after his little argument with Levi when it happened.

A familiar whisper began to slither around him, curling behind his ears and tugging insistingly at his eardrums. The brunet froze, his eyes widening in shock while he looked around him, trying to see where was the person with that haunting prediction and he finally found it.

It was a man wearing a bright red hoodie, the top covering his head and hiding his features. The man was seemingly waiting for someone, sitting in a public bench with his head tilted. His hands were laying over his knees, almost like a good kid. Except that his prediction negated everything from his seemingly innocent appearance.

' _This man will kill Eren Jaeger in..._ '

“In 595 days, at the summer solstice,” the man suddenly said, his gruff voice startling the brunet.

The latter furrowed his brows, trying to understand how the man could have finished his own prediction without him actually saying and felt a cold shiver run over his back. Goosebumps began to prickle his skin and the college student carefully took a step back, his eyes narrowing in distrust.

“Who are you?” he asked in a low voice, his arms slightly raised over his thighs while he shifted discreetly his weight on his best leg, ready to run away at the first hint of danger.

“Reiner Braun,” the man smiled pleasantly while he pushed back his hoodie. He had short cropped blond hair and thin eyebrows along with small eyes. “And I believe that you're Eren Jaeger?”

_'This man will kill Eren Jaeger in 595 days, at the summer solstice.'_

Eren swallowed with some difficulty, his eyes nervously glancing back at the steak house, where Levi and Armin were probably eating and talking about him. Then he looked back at Braun, his cold eyes and the buff body hiding under his hoodie.

“I'm a first class Cupid,” the blond added almost absentmindedly. “And I presume that you're a Cassandra... Or is it a Sybil?”

Eager to know more and yet still ready to bolt away at the first sight of a threat, Eren took a small step toward Braun, his eyes narrowing while he slightly tilted his head, listening to the predictions around him.

“We can't talk here,” he announced with a small move of his chin towards one of the cars parked near the campus.

“Sybil, it is then,” Braun smirked before he stood up. He was taller than Eren and towered over him. However, the brunet didn't blink an eyelash and promptly took the blond by his wrist and forced him to walk to the steak house. “Though I'd have preferred a more... private place.”

“Though luck,” the brunet retorted while he pushed open the door with his shoulder and raised his hand with his little finger up, his eyes meeting Armin's surprised blue ones. He nodded once, his lips thinning while he pulled Braun toward the table Armin had taken before. His best friend was now sitting in front of Levi, in Eren's former seat, and the brunet gave a wry smile to the blond. “Business,” he mouthed silently before sitting and focusing all his attention on Braun.

The latter was already looking at the menu, his thick fingers clenching and then relaxing while he grumbled something under his breath.

“So what's this thing about Cupid, Cassandra and Sybil?” Eren asked with a raised brow, knowing that Armin was already processing everything with his memories and understanding the situation better than him. “Some kind of myth? A play that you want me to act in?”

Braun tilted his head, his eyes almost hazy while he gulped loudly. His lips quivered a bit and he suddenly was back to his confident self, a smug smirk on par.

“Kinda,” he admitted before closing his menu and settling it to the side. As he did so, his elbow grazed Levi's arm and the blond raised a thin brow with an amused smile. “Sorry,” he excused himself and looked back at Eren, his eyes sparkling in mirth while he wriggled his eyebrows. “So,” Braun whispered as he leaned toward the brunet. “You and short-stuff?”

Eren frowned and clenched his hands on his menu.

“What's this thing about Cupid, Cassandra and Sybil?” he repeated while stressing every word carefully.

Braun leaned back with a sigh and shook his head.

“It's a long story but to make it short,” he began with a small chuckle as he had remembered an old joke. “Those whispers that you hear all the time? I have the same thing and I can assure you that the government's dying to get their grabby hands on us and hear everything about those whispers. And they also kind of want us dead. Kind of.”

 

 

  **Days before the end of the world :** ****595 days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And by the next chapter, buff Cupid will finally explain what's going on in this story. Hallelujah.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi becomes an awkward and fumbling little boy whenever Eren is concerned, Reiner gets to show his _lovely_ powers and, finally, something happens between the two virgins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So last time, I thanked you for the 150 kudos and then you go and make it go over 200... I feel really honored by this.  
> On another note, Levi's point of view. Freaking hard and I believe that it ended in OOC. Why??? Why is this awkward thirty years old man so hard to write???  
> And I'll shut up.

He was a total and absolute idiot.

Levi glared at the eggs and cream while he cleaned angrily his kitchen counter. The rag almost broke under his harsh and unforgiving grip but the dark haired man promptly stopped before he had to throw his rag. Again. He folded it and put it back at its place before he went back in front of his sparkling counter, two racks of freshly sliced strawberries and a shit ton of other ingredients waiting silently for him to do his magic. The man ignored how his workers were agglutinated behind him, with Petra giving him worried glances, as they tried to look inconspicuous. Levi closed his eyes with a heavy sigh and gritted his teeth.

He was the most fucking stupid man on Earth and he didn't even know what he was doing.

Levi growled under his breath and threw all the strawberries in his food processor, his eyes darkening threateningly while he watched the fruits turn into a gooey mess. He noticed from the corner of his eye that Petra was telling Gunther and Eld to get back to work, her hands nervously dusting her apron while she glanced from time to time at her boss' worryingly angry cooking. But Levi ignored her and fetched the pint of heavy whipping cream and went back to his confection. The oven bipped once to let him know that it had finished preheating and the dark haired man rushed to another counter.

How much of an idiot could he be in front of Eren Jaeger? Seriously?

Levi frowned and took the tray with the dough, throwing it in the oven before he stalked back to his mashed strawberries and whipping cream. He carelessly wiped his forehead clean with the sleeve of his white shirt and scowled at the whipping cream, his hands deftly adding sugar and the puree of strawberries while he muttered under his breath.

Who the fuck was he even kidding? Making some pastries just so the boy would forgive him! He was a total and absolute idiot, and that was it. Levi, the biggest moron to walk on Earth at this age.

“A walking prick,” the dark haired man muttered to himself while he threw the bowl with the strawberry cream in the fridge and began to clean angrily once again. “A literal shitty walking prick...”

“Levi, sir?” Petra asked with her soft voice. She was standing behind her boss, her hazelnut eyes looking with a worried frown at the almost finished confection. The young pastry chef cocked head and pursed her lips, visibly trying to understand why would Levi bake when he was the first one to say that it was messy and that he didn't even like sweets. “Are you alright?”

Levi stopped suddenly, his eyes narrowed while he slowly turned to look at his worker.

“And why are you asking me that?” he retorted suspiciously.

Petra merely raised a brow, tilting her head while she looked insistingly at the oven and then at fridge in which the strawberry cream had been thrown.

“Sir, you only bake when you have something on your mind,” she finally answered before her eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips. “Did you have a fight with Eren?”

Levi's eyes widened in surprise and Petra smiled softly at him.

“So I was right,” the young pastry chef went in their restroom to fetch two stools and came back. She put the two stools and made a brief sign at her boss so he would take a seat while she did the same. The man frowned but finally relented, a sigh leaving his lips while he briefly glanced at the oven. Petra carefully folded her hands over her lap and narrowed her eyes while she observed her boss. Her keen eyes noticed how heavy were the dark circles under the man's eyes as well as his seemingly permanent scowl. So it wasn't something that he could shrug off like he had done before (Petra was the best at reading her boss' moods and she knew better than anyone else that what the man was going through wasn't something to be ignored).

“What happened, sir?” she asked softly, a kind smile on her lips while she waited patiently for Levi to confide in her.

Her boss sighed heavily, his grey eyes glancing from time to time at the oven before they went back to her face. His frown hadn't decreased and he seemed to be fighting with himself, his hands clenching on his white apron seconds before a heavy sigh rippled through his chest.

“How good are you at the... romance stuff?” he asked in lieu of answering her question.

Petra raised her brows in surprise and slightly parted her lips before a chuckle came out.

“I won't say that I'm an expert, sir,” she answered while her hazelnut eyes sparkled in slight mischief. “But I think that I can help you. Did something happen with Eren? Was it a fight? Or a... misunderstanding?”

Levi's hands clenched at his apron when she said the last word and the pastry chief widened her eyes. So it had been an argument caused by a misunderstanding. Typical.

“What happened?” Petra insisted softly. She tilted her head and glanced at the fridge, remembering the first time she'd met Eren and how Levi had specifically made a strawberry shortcake for the brunet. Maybe her boss felt so culpable that he ended making another pastry with strawberries in it. He was so awkward with people that it wouldn't surprise her if it was indeed the case.

Levi sighed heavily and looked at his nails in silence, his lips stretched into a thin line before he finally answered her.

“It wasn't a misunderstanding,” he clarified as he closed his eyes and grimaced. Then, just as he opened his eyes and looked insistingly at his worker, the dark haired man added, “How do you apologize for having a boner in the middle of an argument?”

“Did angry sex follow this?” Petra inquired with the straightest face she could muster.

“No.”

“Then I sure hope that you're making strawberry cream eclairs, sir,” the young woman commented with a small frown.

“Will five be enough?”

“Make it ten.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Once the dough was done baking and he had successfully filled the eclairs with the strawberry cream, Levi carefully put his latest confection into one of his shop boxes and sat back with Petra. The woman had already planned everything, telling Gunther and Eld to deal with the clients while she spoke with their boss. And, just as Levi tied the white ribbon around the pastel blue box, his pastry chef was putting two cups of tea on the kitchen counter, a soft smile on her lips.

“Now that you're done with the eclairs, why don't you tell me about Eren?” Petra asked while she patted one of the stools with an inviting smile.

Levi rolled his eyes and walked reluctantly to his seat, fetching his cup of tea and then sitting with another sigh.

“So,” Petra hummed happily once her boss sat in front of her. “How did you meet?”

Levi scowled even more and glared at his cup of tea, faint memories of whispers, rumbling and horrified screams echoing in his mind.

“Years ago,” he answered with a shrug. “Though I don't think that he remembers it. I guess that for him, our 'first' meeting was two weeks ago...” He stopped talking and took a sip of his tea, slightly smiling when he tasted his favorite brand.

“Was it love at first sight?” Petra was almost vibrating on her seat, her eyes wide open while she smiled widely at her boss.

That sight made Levi sigh, reminding him that his worker was a big sucker of mushy love stories. Then he snorted, remembering Eren's face covered in snot, his eyes glaring daggers at him through the dust and how his childish voice had nagged him from stealing. He hadn't changed much, his glares were as cute as back then and Levi had even be surprised when he had felt some kind of spark when he had been confronted by the angry brunet. The way those hauntingly familiar eyes had burned at him, scorching holes in his body, had made him shiver while he tried his best to conceal his growing excitation. Something that had been all for naught when Eren had stumbled toward him and poked his chest with his finger, seconds before he slipped over nothing and ended falling head first on the sidewalk. Levi flinched as he remembered those eyes darkening in pain and the blood falling over the dirty sidewalk.

“No,” he said. “He was a kid back then.”

A kid with a running nose and teary eyes. A little boy with quite a temper and who saved his life.

“I see,” Petra seemed a bit saddened by her boss' answer but promptly recovered from it and smiled brightly at him. “And now? Do you love him?”

Levi looked down at his cup of tea, his brows furrowing while he thought of Eren's angry eyes, his rare happy smiles and his seemingly permanent clumsiness. He thought of those gloved fingers curling around a styrofoam cup, the way the brunet always ate the strawberries before he went for the cake, how he had laughed like a happy kid when he'd been running away from him. He remembered the stiffness in the boy's actions whenever they were alone, his nervousness and how he had been unashamed of his own body. How he had glared at him, silently waiting for Levi to comment on his missing limbs.  
Somehow, the dark haired man felt a pull in his chest.

“I don't know,” Levi answered honestly.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

And here he was, unknowing of his own feelings and with a box full of strawberry cream eclairs, standing in front of a dirty little steak house somewhere near the Trost College. Levi sighed heavily and glanced at his wristwatch, pursing his lips when he noticed that he had, once again, missed the opening of his own shop and all of that for an annoying kid with bright eyes. The dark haired man clicked his tongue when he saw the familiar blond face coming his way and his scowl increased when he noticed that his heartbeat had accelerated at the idea of seeing again Eren.

“Sorry to be late,” the blond coconut head gasped once he stopped next to the dark haired man. The latter merely shrugged and made sure that the blue box of eclairs hadn't been shaken by his action. The eclairs wouldn't survive such treatment.

Levi glared at the box, remembering Petra's advices on the do and do-not of asking for forgiveness, and finally looked at the blond kid. He couldn't really remember his name but figured that it didn't really matter. The boy seemed smart so he (probably) wouldn't hold it against him.

“Right,” the adult muttered while he slightly shuffled his feet and looked around. “What about Eren?”

“He'll probably be late too,” the blond shrugged and gave him a nervous smile. “Why don't we come in? It's Eren's favorite restaurant so I'm sure that he'll come soon!”

Levi nodded absentmindedly, writing down somewhere in his mind that it was Eren's favorite establishment and that it'd be good if he got a taste of the specials. Maybe if he made a meal similar to the one in this quaint steak house, the brunet would be more forgiving. A man could dream.

“Sure,” he grunted while he opened harshly the door and barged in the steak house.

Like he had expected, the establishment was dirty. Grease was everywhere, on the floor, on the walls, even on the door handle. Levi shuddered in disgust and promptly took his handkerchief out to wipe his hands, a scowl making its way on his face while he glared at everything around him. The tables were quite small and covered in yellowy tablecloths that had been once white. The dark haired man turned green when he noticed the forks and knives. He didn't even want to look at them. Levi closed his eyes and took a deep breath, vaguely feeling the blond kid pushing him softly towards a table (was it also Eren's favorite?). He opened his eyes reluctantly and sat down, raising a brow when he saw the blond put his bag on the back of his chair and then moving back to another table.

“That way, Eren will go straight to your side,” the blond explained with a smug smile.

“Not bad,” Levi stated while he cocked his head and glanced at the blue box. He was tempted to leave it on the table but refrained from it. It would look like he was anxious and only wanted Eren's forgiveness. Maybe giving it after talking things through with the brunet would be better. Levi nodded to himself, proud with his own decision and took the box carefully, making sure that the eclairs wouldn't be shaken by his actions, before he put it under the table.

Waiting for Eren didn't take much time, in fact the brunet came rushing through the steak house, his pink lips parted while he softly panted and his eyes were slightly glazed when he finally sat in front of Levi. The latter didn't really react, still busy making sure that the box of eclairs was alright at his feet. He didn't even have time to carefully think over his words of apology when the brunet smiled at him and downright moaned his words.

“Heyyy~” there went Levi's calm and focus. Also, those hooded eyes and sultry voice were simply sinful. “You've no idea how much I missed you!”

Levi swallowed. Hard. Now that he thought about it, worrying about Eren's forgiveness didn't seem that important. Not when the brunet looked at him with those hooded eyes and smiled so brightly at him. The dark haired man carefully crossed his legs and took a deep breath. While he did so, Eren seemed to undertake a swift change of mind because he suddenly glared at him like the other day and Levi gritted his teeth. Seems like he had rejoiced too fast.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Eren growled at him.

Totally caught off guard, Levi widened his eyes and swiftly glanced at the box of eclairs, wondering if now was the moment to give them to the brunet. But he decided against it and instead frowned at the college student.

“Language,” he chided as he remembered how, being a little kid, Eren had done the same thing with him. (But well, Eren had a lot of merit doing that as he had been a mere kid when Levi had been a thug scaring the shit out of him) That faint memory tugged something at his chest and the dark haired man folded his arms over it, trying his best to shield himself from those memories. Nothing good would come from dwelling in those memories. Nothing.

“Like I give a shit!” Eren retorted angrily as he stood up, effectively shaking Levi away from his dark thoughts. The boy had a hand covering his face and Levi tilted his head, trying to understand why the brunet would have to hide it from it.

Was it because he had been creeped out by his feelings? Levi scowled at the dirty tablecloth and clenched his hands on the fabric of his jeans. Or it could simply be because he was a dirty old man who had sported a shitty boner when the boy had been screaming at him. And that said shitty old man had stalked him into his favorite restaurant. Phrased like that, Levi could understand Eren's anger. Sort of. Even if the boy really needed to work on that too.

“Well,” the blond's voice startled Levi and he looked up, noticing with some surprise that the kid was now sitting in front of him. “That went well...”

Levi frowned and clicked his tongue.

“ _Well_ ,” he repeated while he rolled his eyes. “How in the fuck is that going well? Is your brain alright, kid?”

“It's Armin, actually,” the kid easily retorted without batting an eyelash. However, the cold sweat running over his forehead was enough to tell how nervous he really was.

Nonetheless, Levi was slightly impressed by his calm. From what little he remembered of Mikasa's endless chattering about her friends, Armin was the kid with all the brains while Mikasa and Eren were the brawn. More like Mikasa actually. Eren was the annoying kid who broke through their walls and forced them to socialize.

“And it went amazingly well,” Armin added with a smug smile. “I really feared that Eren would leave at the second he saw your face, you know?”

“So he's that disgusted,” Levi muttered to himself while he looked, almost crestfallen, at the extremely disgusting yellow tablecloth.

“Disgusted?” the kid cocked his head and blinked slowly. “I don't think so. I'd rather say that he's overwhelmed because it's the first time that someone openly showed any hint of sexual desire towards him.”

Levi choked on his saliva and began to cough uncontrollably, thumping loudly his chest so he could breathe again. Once he was able to breath without coughing like a dying man, the adult looked with wide eyes at the blond.

“What?” he croaked weakly. “Overwhelmed?”

“Didn't Mikasa already tell you?” the blond raised his brows in surprise and thrummed his fingers lightly on the yellowy tablecloth.

Levi clicked his tongue in disgust as he saw the kid do so and slowly shook his head. Like he could remember everything that Mikasa told him. Except if it concerned her own condition or Eren though.

“Eren's pretty oblivious to everything about him. I think that you already saw that when you went with him at the hospital, right?” Armin added with a small smile. His blue eyes suddenly glanced behind Levi and then went back to his face. “And whenever he's faced with something that he doesn't understand, Eren always gives in his anger.”

Levi merely blinked, surprise slowly seeping through the cracks of his mask of indifference and he furrowed his brows. The idea of Eren being something else than disgusted about him, being overwhelmed was being slightly... overwhelming for the adult. He looked down, slightly shuffling on his chair so he could see his box of eclairs and clicked his tongue. If he hurried and ran, he could give them to Eren and look at the boy blush angrily. And, maybe if he was lucky, actually get the opportunity to explain himself. Maybe if he told him why he acted so strangely around the brunet and actually reminded him of their real first meeting... Maybe things would change. Maybe they would change for better. Or maybe they would worsen. Levi wasn't a seer so he didn't know.

He could always ask Auruo, Petra's annoying boyfriend, to give him that seer's number. It was rare for a seer to work in the black market and not be controlled by the government but, as he had seen it with his own eyes, that seer wasn't a fake. That person could help him with his little argument with Eren.

Chairs rattling over the greasy ground made him flinch and he glared at whoever had made that annoying and startling sound. To his surprise, it was Eren. The brunet was indeed sitting at the table next to his and he was giving quite a heated look at the blond jock sitting in front of him. Levi frowned when he looked at the said blond, recognizing the red hoodie as well as the gruff face.

Why the hell was doing Eren? Hanging out so easily with his stalker?

Levi frowned even more and glanced at Armin, his eyes slightly widening when saw the worried glances that the latter was giving to his friend. His eyebrows were furrowed as well and his fingers were tightly clenching on the steak house menu. Eren's stalker seemed to notice the tenseness around because his hold on his own menu was also tense. Levi briefly glared at him and then looked at his menu, disgusted by the mere idea of actually touching the greasy pages.

“So what's this thing about Cupid, Cassandra and Sybil? Some kind of myth? A play that you want me to act in?” Eren's voice startled him away from his disgusted thoughts and Levi glanced at the brunet.

The latter was glaring at the blond with an eyebrows raised, almost daringly. He seemed to be annoyed by something though and Levi remembered Armin's words about how easily the brunet got angry whenever he didn't understand something. That thought reminded him of the fact that Eren wasn't really disgusted by him and the adult smiled softly as his feet grazed the box of eclairs. Once the annoying stalker threat was over, Levi would finally get his chat with Eren and give him the eclairs. As he did so, the dark haired man didn't notice how Eren's stalker suddenly tilted his head toward him, his eyes turning hazy while he gulped loudly.

“Kinda,” the blond said just as his elbow grazed Levi's arm.

The adult clicked his tongue in disgust and promptly moved his arm, glaring at the towering blond.

“Sorry,” the latter apologized with an all-knowing smirk before he looked back at Eren and he wriggled his non-existent eyebrows. He whispered something that Levi didn't really try to hear, too fixated by Eren's face.

The brunet was now frowning angrily, his hands clenching harshly at the menu and actually at the verge of ripping the pages.

“What's this thing about Cupid, Cassandra and Sybil?” he repeated, stressing every word heavily.

Levi furrowed his brows and glanced at Armin. The blond was gritting his teeth and listening attentively to every word spoken by the other blond. The latter slowly leaned back on his chair, making Levi release a sigh that he hadn't noticed he had been holding in, and shook his head.

“It's a long story but to make it short,” the buff blond chuckled and it gave Levi goosebumps. “Those whispers that you hear all the time?” Levi gritted his teeth, he didn't like where this was going. He didn't like it at all. “I have the same thing and I can assure you that the government's dying to get their grabby hands on us and hear everything about those whispers. And they kind of want us dead. Kind of.”

Levi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He could hear Armin doing the same and Eren gasped in shock. During all the while, his mind was racing through what he had just found out. The government had only two kind of people that they wanted dead. Criminals and witches.  
And Levi could already tell which kind Eren and the annoying blond were.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Eren leaned forward and widened his eyes, a startled gasp leaving his parted lips.

“You have the same thing?” he whispered, his eyes sparkling in amazement.

Braun nodded and quickly looked around him.

“I'd feel better if we talked somewhere else,” he hissed with a frown.

“No,” the brunet immediately retorted with a straight face. “Here's the safest place for now. If we left now, you'd be assaulted in less than ten minutes.”

Braun whistled, impressed, and smirked at him. His eyes briefly glanced at Armin's table, acknowledging silently the two men, before they went back and looked insistingly at Eren's face.

“So you're really a Sybil,” the blond whispered with an almost deferential voice. “First time that I've met one. Is it true that you can know your own death?”

Eren furrowed his brows, having some troubles understanding Braun's question. He cocked his head, looking at his right and meeting Armin's worried but focused eyes. They silently conversed, eyebrows quivering and lips tightening before the blond gave him the green light with a raised brow.

“I don't understand,” Eren muttered as he glanced at Braun's face. The blond was frowning, his head slightly tilted to the left while he seemed to be waiting for something. His fingers were thrumming on the menu in a rapid staccato, the rhythm strangely familiar to Eren's ears. “Why are you asking this when you were the one who told me that you'd kill me in 595 days?” he added in a slightly stronger voice.

A chair suddenly fell over the tiled floor and Eren blinked in surprise. Braun wasn't sitting anymore in front of him. In fact, he was being pushed, head first, on Armin's table whilst Levi pressed his forearm against the blond's neck.

“What...” Eren slowly stood up, his mouth hanging open while he watched how Levi pressed Braun's face against the tablecloth and snarled at the blond.

“You have three seconds to explain this,” the dark haired man scowled as he pushed even more against the blond's neck.

“ _Levi_?” Eren called with an incredulous voice.

“Okay, okay,” Braun didn't move from his uncomfortable looking stance and sighed heavily. “Can you release me though? We're attracting a lot of attention and I don't like it.”

“I'll release you once you answer me,” Levi growled coldly, his eyes turning to their scary gunmetal color while he didn't move an inch away from the blond.

“I won't answer something that your boyfriend already knows,” Braun shrugged and smirked at the dark haired man. “Ooh, that's quite a lot of jealousy. Calm yourself, short-stuff. I'm not interested in that way in Eren. He just has something that I'm literally dying to have...”

Levi growled, ignoring everything around him and he narrowed threateningly his eyes.

“And what is it?” he hissed.

“Knowledge,” Braun simply answered. “We both had a deal, telling the other what he didn't know and, once it was done, I planned on leaving this town and making sure that we would never cross paths again...”

“Is that true?” Levi slightly stopped pushing Braun's head against the table and looked at Eren's distressed face.

He seemed scared of something. Almost as if he feared that the blond would reveal his secret to Levi. The latter frowned and clicked his tongue, prompting the brunet to finally answer him. Eren nodded silently, his eyes nervously going over Armin's face to the other blond.

“Yes,” the brunet licked his lips and suddenly covered his cheeks and mouth with his two hands. However, it had been too late and Levi widened his eyes in surprise when he caught sight of the rising blush coloring vividly the college student's ears. “I really need to hear whatever he has to tell me so Levi, _please_.”

The dark haired man acquiesced, swallowing hard and took a step back, reluctantly letting go of Braun's neck while he cleared his throat. Levi glanced at his wristwatch and cursed under his breath before he knelt under the table, making Eren raise his brows in surprise as he knew how sickened the man had to be with the dubious cleanliness of the steak house. The brunet's surprise doubled when he saw the adult stand up with a pastel blue box with a bright white ribbon tying it. Eren blinked and he gaped in shock when Levi suddenly threw the box at him. The boy fumbled nervously with the box, his hands missing it a second too late before he finally caught it at mere inches from the floor.

“Careful there,” Levi told him with a frown while he folded his arms over his chest.

Eren gulped nervously, his eyes looking insistingly at the man's dark grey eyes so they wouldn't stray to his more than fit chest. Looking at that chest would indubitably remind him of that day when Levi had worn that cursed white shirt that had showed off all the curves, muscles and just how impressively fit the man really was under his stern everyday clothes.

“They were some leftovers yesterday and I know that you like strawberries,” the man added almost absentmindedly with a shrug. “Do what you want with it, I don't care.”

Braun snorted loudly and immediately recoiled when he got a scorching glare from the dark haired man.

“But I expect you to visit my shop this afternoon,” Levi finished while he glared at Eren. “No excuses or I'll hunt you down.”

Eren rolled his eyes and sighed heavily while he tried his best to ignore the way his stomach had suddenly twisted when he had heard Levi's demands. Nonetheless, he agreed with a shrug.

“Fine.”

“Fine,” Levi repeated with another glare while he stalked out of the steak house.

“Oh my god, are they always like that?” Braun muttered while he rolled his eyes. Armin shrugged and Braun groaned. “They are the chummiest pair I've ever met!”

“In what kind of world was that chummy?” Armin retorted with a disbelieving face.

“Believe me,” the other blond answered him with a chuckle. “They are. And that man, Levi, must be some kind of human teddy bear. Also,” he cocked his head and glanced at Eren's beet red face and at the pastel blue box almost crushed against his chest. “I do hope that you won't throw that. He spent an all-nighter doing it, you know? And just for you too!”

“And that's enough with Eren's nonexistent relationship,” Armin suddenly chided while he forced Braun to sit down and pulled his chair until it was between Eren and Braun. “Now, tell us about your ability.”

Braun cocked his head and furrowed his brows while he looked at Armin, his eyes were slightly dazed but his frown increased while they slowly became focused once again.

“I can't read you,” he accused Armin with a small growl.

“Don't threaten him,” Eren immediately retorted while his eyes quickly glanced at the people around him. His eyes stopped on a woman eating some french fries with her fingers and he cursed under his breath. He'd have to talk with her after this discussion.

“But I can't read him! Can you?” Braun almost whined and Eren promptly shut him up with a glare.

“Of course I can,” he hissed angrily. “He has a great future before him so don't even think of threatening it!”

Braun frowned and muttered something under his breath before he sighed heavily.  
“Very well,” he reluctantly admitted. “What do you want to know?”

“You said something about the government wanting Eren dead,” Armin immediately jumped in and furrowed his brows. “Could you explain that please?”

“Sure,” the other blond shrugged and stopped talking as he had noticed a waiter coming to their table. The three young men gave their orders and silently waited for the waiter to leave before Braun snorted softly.

“What is it?” Eren asked him with a suspicious frown.

“Nothing important,” Braun answered him with a wide grin. “That man,” he added while pointing at the waiter, “was wondering if he'd get the chance to look at your ass before you left. He seems pretty smitten with it.”

Armin rolled in eyes at the flagrant try to change topics from the blond and elbowed Eren in his ribs to break through his blushing fest. The brunet was way too sensible to this kind of topic.

“Right,” the smaller blond drawled while he thrummed lightly his fingers on the table. “Explain yourself.”

“I'm Reiner Braun,” Braun shrugged when he noticed Armin's annoyed face at his own ignorance and then sobered down. “What do you know about the governmental facilities for the talented?”

“It's the place where the genius study the witches, and all the latest inventions come from,” the other blond answered slowly, his eyebrows furrowing while he slowly came to a conclusion that he didn't like at all. “Don't tell me witches are really like Eren and you?”

Reiner chuckled and nodded silently.

“Actually, witches don't exist,” he explained with a wide grin. “They just gave us that name so people wouldn't really care about us. We don't have powers like the rumors say. In fact, we just have some kind of mutation in our brains that made us able to perceive some kind of things that shouldn't be perceived. The government is going ballistic with us because we are able to easily see through any disguise and our abilities are never the same. At first, they tried to categorize them, giving them names and all that shit.”

“But it didn't work,” Armin whispered as he glanced at Eren, his blue eyes widening while he remembered his notebook full of annotations and his sleepless nights spent scribbling down theories about the brunet's ability. “Because they are changing everyday.”

“That's right,” Braun nodded with a chuckle. He looked at Eren and smiled approvingly. “Your friend's really smart!”

“He's some kind of Einstein,” the brunet shrugged and looked at the yellow tablecloth, his fingers clenching around the pastel blue box. He was still having a hard time processing the news that he was some kind of mutant.

“So far,” the bulky blond added with a pensive frown, “the seers are the most wanted of us. They are also the easiest to find. Something to do with their brainwaves or something like that...”

“That's why they always get an MRI when a baby is born,” Armin whispered in an amazed voice. “So when the doctors tell the parents that the baby had a brain tumor?”

“Most of the times, the baby's a seer and it get sent straight away in the governmental facility for the talented,” Braun shrugged and then looked insistingly at Eren. “The question now is how you got out of their grasp.”

“My mother wanted to have me at home and my father was a doctor,” the brunet shrugged while he tried to ignore the faint pinprick of worry in his chest.

Had his father known about this? Had he noticed something in Eren's ultrasound scan when he had been a mere fetus and then decided to hide him from the government's eyes? Was this why he had always made sure that he was the one to get Eren's shots? Why he had always been adamant that only his close friends were the one to be his doctors?  
He was feeling sick.

“What's this thing about Cassandra, Cupid and Sybil?” Armin's calm voice cut through Eren's sickness and the brunet blinked, slowly coming back to his senses. “Are those the names that the government gave to your abilities? Are Cassandra and Sybil different kinds of seers?”

Braun opened widely his eyes and whistled in amazement.

“You nailed it!” he exclaimed happily. “Seers with the Cassandra classification are the kind of seers who just hear snippets of words or just feelings that never make sense. However, they can sometimes give a whole prediction that makes sense once they die.” Reiner suddenly stopped talking and gritted his teeth. “That's why they kill them once those seers are adults. I had a friend, Marcel... He's the one who told me about the 'killing Eren Jaeger' thing. Next thing I know, he was dead.”

Armin took a sharp breath, his eyes quickly glancing at Eren's shocked face and then at the approaching waiter with their meals. The blond suddenly felt his phone buzz in his pocket and he furrowed his brows. He hadn't been expecting a call and the moment wasn't really ideal for this. However, as Braun had stopped talking and Eren seemed more busy looking absentmindedly at his steak than rekindling the conversation, Armin took out his phone and glanced at the scream. He immediately cursed under his breath.

“Sorry but I need to take this call,” he quickly stood up and took his bag, throwing some pocket money at the table so his meal would be paid and immediately left with his pizza in his hand.

Armin pushed the door open with his shoulder and hurried out the steak house, he walked toward the college and sighed heavily before he finally answered the call with a weary face.

“Yes?” he asked warily.

“Armin!” the familiar and overexcited voice quickly answered him. “How are you? What about your seer? Are they alright? Did they lose weight again? What are they planning to do for the next disaster? _How far are you willing to go for them_?”

The blond furrowed his brows and munched quietly on his slice of pizza.

“It depends,” he said quietly. “Why did you call me, professor Hanji?”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“Finally,” Braun sighed in relief once Armin left.

Eren immediately straightened his back and glanced worriedly around him. He noticed some predictions in his surroundings that could help him if he were to confront the blond and slightly relaxed. It was alright, the brunet was in known territory while the blond wasn't.

“How far does your ability go?” Braun asked while he leaned forward. He had put his elbows on the table, ignoring his meal while he looked insistingly at the brunet. The latter merely blinked. It made the blond sigh while he ruffled his hair with annoyance but quickly schooled his features back in his easygoing smile. “I mean,” Braun added with another smile that ruffled Eren's feathers in the wrong way. “I already told you that I was a Cupid right? That means that I'm able to hear and gauge the compatibility between people. Like you with short-stuff. Or with that waiter. In fact,” he leaned forward, his smile finally changing and becoming more honest. “I'd tell you to keep seeing short-stuff. You sound really good together. Like some kind of bolero.”

“What?” Eren blinked slowly, trying to understand the blond's words and still failing.

“You know, Ravel's bolero,” the man shrugged before he suddenly froze. His eyes widened, pupils dilating drastically, and he thrummed nervously his fingers on the table. He looked nervous, almost scared by all the people surrounding him. And Eren had a feeling that the blond wasn't accustomed to being around so many people and couldn't deal correctly with his ability. “But there are other abilities too,” Braun added, gulping nervously as he swiftly put his hoodie back over his head.

Eren widened his eyes, recognizing all the signs of an impending panic attack. However, Braun didn't stop talking and his thrumming accelerated. “Like Bert, he's a friend,” the blond was now rambling, sweat running over his covered face. “They call his category Hades, or sometimes Medusa. We never really knew it because everyone was scared shitless of meeting his eyes.” Reiner swallowed and scratched his neck, his eyes skittering to the door while he took deep breaths. “He can hear your worst fear, you know? Made a lot of grown men cry for their mothers when he was a kid...” Braun's voice trailed over the last word and he gulped loudly. His lips quivered and the blond hunched over the table, his elbows ending on his french fries. “Hey, will your friend come back? He was good at shielding all that _noise_.”

“He won't,” Eren answered curtly, his head slightly tilted while he glanced around him. That annoying whisper that had followed him for the last four days was back. “You should hurry because we will soon be interrupted...”

“I... I see,” Braun nodded warily and looked nervously around him, his eyes stopping briefly on a familiar face. The blond straightened his back and cleared his throat, having seemingly regained his calm. “So how far goes your ability? Can people's predictions change?”

Eren cupped his chin pensively and looked at his steak, trying his best to ignore Reiner's insisting prediction of his impending murder and instead focus on his own thoughts.

“It's a hundred percent accurate,” the brunet finally answered as he looked up at the blond. The latter smiled in relief and all signs of nervousness left his body. “And everyone's prediction can change.”

“That's why you weren't scared of talking to me,” Braun whispered as he connected the pieces.

“Mostly,” Eren shrugged and suddenly scowled at his plate. He shook his head, ignoring the blond's worried glances, and stood up. The brunet took Levi's box carefully, making sure to not shake it too much as he feared the state of its content. “We should leave. Now.”

“Just a last question,” the blond insisted as they both walked hurriedly to the counter so they could pay their meal and leave at once.

Eren clicked his tongue in annoyance, ignoring the waiter's interested eyes raking over his body, and tilted his head toward Braun. The latter took it as an invitation and sighed in relief.

“Could you give me one individual's prediction?” the blond inquired, his voice carefully low whilst he made sure that nobody was listening around them.

“I'd have to see them face to face,” the brunet answered reluctantly. “But I could, yes.”

“Awesome!” Braun's face brightened while he smiled widely at Eren, the blond hugging the college student seconds before he scowled and stepped away from him. “Shit, Vivaldi's Winter is here...”

“What?” Eren exclaimed in surprise.

“Your second stalker,” Braun explained curtly. “He sounds like some kind of incomplete Vivaldi concerto. The winter one. I've got to go!”

Eren had just the time to blink and the blond had already left his side, money laying on the counter and the front door creaking as it closed behind a red hoodie. The college student sighed and turned toward the waiter with a tight smile. He payed the meals and got out of the steak house, his sense hyper aware of his surroundings and, above everything else, of the insisting whispers around him. He looked from the corner of his eye and finally got a clear sight of his second stalker, as Braun had put it.

It was an adult, a blond man with thick eyebrows and sharp cheekbones. He was wearing a simple beige coat and black slacks along with leather shoes. All in all, he didn't really stand out from the crowd of pedestrians. However, Eren gritted his teeth when he finally saw the man's face and briefly met his cold blue eyes.

_'This man will stop at nothing to reach his goal and will unveil a conspiracy on a Sunday.'_

He needed to know more about this second stalker of his. And above everything else, he needed to make sure if that prediction would end hurting him in its process or not.  
But before that, before telling everything to Armin and making sure that the blond's call hadn't been something worrying for the boy, before thinking of a plan on how to talk with his new stalker, Eren needed to go to class.

And after that, meet with Levi.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

His last class of the day, psychology, had taken more time that he had expected and once he had left the college campus, Eren had been surprised by the dark and raining sky and the few people taking the subway. He glanced nervously at his watch, his eyes widening in shock when he noticed the time and how late it really was, before he glanced at the windows, praying for the subway to go faster. Once it stopped at the wanted station, Eren hurried outside, forgetting everything about his fears of slipping over the wet ground and that he needed to open his umbrella if he didn't want to get an unwanted shower thanks to the downpour. The brunet ran in the empty shopping street, ignoring the few people walking around him and stopped in front of Levi's tea shop, his eyes briefly going over its name, _Big Ass Flowers Everyday_ , before he finally noticed the small panel hanging behind the door.

[We're closed. Come disturb us tomorrow.]

Eren snorted softly, almost hearing Levi muttering those words with an annoyed tone, and he leaned his forehead against the closed door with a tired sigh. He had been too late and now Levi was probably cursing him and looking for him. Also, the brunet had to thank him for the eclairs. Those pastries had been the only good thing of his day and he really wanted to thank Levi for it. Also, they had been delicious and the boy really needed to know their recipe and, if Braun had been right about it, Levi had been the one to make them.   
Eren groaned softly as he remembered the sweetness of those strawberry cream eclairs and on how, even if they had been pretty much destroyed with Eren's manhandling, they had been sinfully delicious. His cheeks became slightly dusted in red when he remembered Braun's words over Levi pulling an all-nighter just to make those eclairs and he closed his eyes tiredly.

He was getting tired of always being wary around Levi, on always wondering and fearing if his words had been too much and if that had made his future marriage with the adult impossible. In fact, Eren was getting tired of trying to seduce Levi just to save the world when the man was a nice fellow, even if he was a bit unreadable at times, and didn't deserve this kind of treatment from him.

Eren was surprised when the door suddenly opened, making him lose his balance and he yelped loudly when he fell forward. However, two hands promptly steered him back on his feet and the brunet widened his eyes when he noticed that he had a face full of a familiar chest.

“Levi?” he called warily, almost shrinking as he took a step back and cleared his throat nervously.

“You're late. Again,” the man stated coldly. His grey eyes observed quietly Eren's blushing face and his wet and disheveled hair, before he sighed softly. “You should have called, I was about to leave and search for you...”

Eren flinched at the silent accusation and moaned when he realized that he could have called or even sent at message to Levi.

“I'm so fucking stupid,” he muttered under his breath while he shook his head to try to keep the water from running over his face.

“That makes two of us,” Levi commented dryly as he threw a clean rag at the student's face. “Come in before you drown.”

Eren thanked him quietly and promptly followed the adult's advice, rubbing energetically his hair while he shuffled nervously in the empty shop. The lights were slightly dulled and the brunet tilted his head, his eyes widening when he realized what it really meant. Levi had waited for him overtime, staying alone in his closed tea shop just to make sure that they wouldn't miss each other.

' _I'd tell you to keep seeing short-stuff. You sound really good together_ ,' Reiner's voice whispered in Eren's mind and the boy blushed nervously as he remembered it. He glanced at the dark haired man and gulped, his gaze meeting the adult's bored eyes.

_'If Levi Ackerman doesn't marry Eren Jaeger, the world will end in 776 days. And if they don't forgive their past, the world will end in 595 days.'_

Levi's prediction hadn't changed at all, and it didn't surprise Eren. However, the words used in it were buggering him. It said things like _marrying_ and _forgiving_. But love had never been mentioned. In fact, had this whole thing of seducing Levi even been necessary?

“Eren,” Levi startled the brunet from his thoughts and the latter blinked slowly. “Are you alright?”

The college student opened his mouth to immediately close it, a frown tugging at his lips.  
“Levi,” Eren began nervously while he dried absentmindedly his hair with the rag and did his best to ignore the little voice in his head, so similar to Armin's, screeching at him to stop talking. “I have something to tell you...”

The dark haired man scowled and narrowed his eyes.

“Well, if you are playing the honesty bullshit card, I'll do the same,” he drawled as he pulled a chair and sat with a small scoff. “Let's get over this shit, Eren.”

The brunet gulped nervously.

' _Here goes nothing_ ,' he thoughts as he prepared himself for what promised to be a really long and hard talk.

Little did he know that Levi felt the same thing.

 

 

 **Days before the end of the world** **:** 595.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: EXPLANATION TIME! Again! Except that Buff Cupid won't be there anymore to explain all the sexual tension between those two awkward idiots.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi grows a pair thanks to Eren. Or, in other words, have a lot of words where those two are awkward idiots and there's some progress. _Finally_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here you have the worst type of chapter ever. Two characters speaking. And that's it. Really. That's all there is to know about this chapter. Also, it was a pain in the ass to write and Eren is a saint. And buckle your seat belt because a lot of things will be revealed.
> 
> By the way, thank you for all the kudos, comments and bookmarks!

_Being bored and angry had never been a good mix. Furthermore when Eren was the one concerned._

_The young Eren Jaeger, at his mere eight years old, had never been good at controlling his anger and as such, had ended fleeing from one of the little shops in the middle of the always busy and crowded Shiganshina Shopping Street. Huffing loudly as he passed in front of yet another shop, its vitrine dusty and preventing the kid from looking inside, the little boy narrowed his eyes when he briefly saw a pale face with cold eyes enter in that very shop._

_The whispers were annoying him, pestering him about unfulfilled lives and broken dreams. But amongst those habitual mutters, the little boy heard an intriguing thing. The anger dulled while curiosity took its place, and Eren followed the pale face in the shop._

_The bell shrilly rang in the dusty shop and the boy blinked, his eyes open wide as he looked for the pale face. Even if he had promised his parents to stop talking to strangers about things that only existed in his head, Eren knew that he had to talk to the pale face. Mostly because his mother had always been adamant about morals and that he hoped doing something good would lessen the blow he had just dealt to her. The little boy got on his tiptoes and tried to look above the counter, thinking that the pale face would have hidden from his eyes there. However, he was soon disappointed when the only thing he got to see was an angry clerk who glared at him. Before the clerk could even ask him what he was doing alone in a liqueur store, the little boy ran away from the old man and hurried into the farthest aisle. As he did so, Eren furrowed his brows when he noticed that the whispers had stopped._

_His face turned white as he realized what was about to come._

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

The constant and dull platter of the rain was the only sound in the tea shop.  
Eren could faintly see the heavy raindrops fall over the sidewalk, but the dull lighting in the tea shop along with the broken streetlamps of the shopping street didn't help at all. In fact, the brunet could mostly see his own face on the wide windows instead of the outside, as well as the empty tea shop and the other man. The other man who was currently looking at him with an unreadable face and a raised eyebrow.

“Soooo...” Eren drawled nervously as he glanced back at his cup of tea. It wasn't steaming hot anymore and the brunet wondered how many time he could have spent looking at the window and just postponing the conversation.

Levi's raised brow didn't move at all while the adult sipped quietly his own tea. His left hand was laying on the table, fingers softly thrumming the wood while he simply looked at the flustered brunet, his grey eyes waiting patiently as he put down his cup of tea and swiftly licked his lips clean. Eren gulped as he watched the adult, and he began to nervously fumble around, his gloved fingers running over the wooden table as he looked for any kind of safe topic.

_He wasn't ready._

The realization had hit him. And hard. Eren just wasn't ready to explain everything to Levi, even if he wanted to. His innards seemed to be about to twist themselves into a double frayed knot, while his hands were twitching as if he was under an electroshock.  
His eyes widened in shock while the brunet looked away from his twitching hands to Levi's face. The latter was watching him, his face as inexpressive as always while his eyes were slightly narrowed, faint wrinkles at their corners caused by his blatant worry.

“So,” Eren repeated, swallowed hard as he tried to ready himself for something that he wasn't quite ready for. “I have to explain what happened at the restaurant, right?”

Levi nodded silently, his grey eyes never leaving the brunet's face while the adult cocked his head, and one of his fingers began to circle his cup of tea. The action was almost hypnotic for the nervous college student and the latter blinked slowly, feeling his nervousness slowly ebb away.

“Well,” the brunet chuckled and he scratched the nape of his neck with a wary grin. “What did you understand from it? Just to know how much I need to...”

“You don't have to serve me that bullshit,” Levi cut the boy before he could ramble more. The adult sighed heavily and thinned his lips, his eyes becoming slightly hazed as he looked at his almost empty cup of tea. “I understood enough.”

Eren blinked, his face becoming a perfect mess of surprise and even annoyance.

“Enough, you say!” he protested with a small huff. “But what is enough, Levi?” the brunet stopped and took a deep breath, shaking his head with a tired expression before he looked at the other man. “We should seriously stop this. Those misunderstandings are getting old...”

“Misunderstandings?” Levi repeated as he furrowed his brows. His eyes darkened while he pursed his lips in annoyance and the other man merely huffed at the sight. The dark haired man almost rolled his eyes at Eren's reaction but instead focused on his words. “What misunderstandings? I already knew that you have this thing so I won't sell you to those pigs. Trust me, Eren.”

“You! I don't! Graaaah!” Eren protested before he stopped, raised his hands to the sky and just groaned, defeated. The college student slumped over the table, his cup of tea dangerously shaking while the boy thumped loudly his forehead against the wood. He stayed there, his nose hurting as it was being almost splashed over his face, and scrunched his face as he realized something.

Thanks to Levi's brutal honesty, Eren hadn't had to explain everything. However, the man had implied something else, and it disturbed the boy.

“Wait!” the brunet suddenly straightened his back and pointed his finger at Levi's chest, ignoring the man's surprised face and slightly parted lips. “If you know, why aren't you asking me questions!”

Levi's face suddenly closed off and he simply gazed at Eren silently, his eyes conveying nothing, if it was mere attentiveness. Then, just as the brunet was fretting over just talking about something else or bolt away from Mikasa's uncle, the latter sighed heavily and raised a hand to shield his face from the boy's eyes.

“Because I already did,” he finally whispered.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

_His mother had always made a point to tell him that he had to follow one of her rules to a tee. And today, alone as he was in that dusty little shop, Eren did his best to follow her rule. He tried to keep his calm, carefully stepping away from the cold face and then walking back to the counter with a straight face, his steps fast and on the verge of running. The little boy narrowed his eyes when he saw the long line of customers waiting to pay for their articles, and he worried his lips while he tilted his head to the side. The whispers in his head had stopped and he could only hear the customers' idle chatting or the clerk's bored yawns._

_Eren furrowed his brows and decided to ignore his mother's teaching about courtesy and rudeness. He pushed through the crowd of customers and got on his tiptoes once he was in front of the counter, leaning his scrawny elbows on it so he didn't lose his balance. The little boy wrinkled his nose when the clerk's bad breath surrounded him but didn't move from his spot, his wide eyes staring unblinkingly at the adult while he waited for the latter to finally notice him._

“ _What is it,” the man grunted as he checked yet another bottle of beer._

“ _Where is the security bunker?” Eren asked politely with an annoyed frown. Even if his mother had insisted that he had to always be polite with strangers and persons older than him, the brunet still had a bad temper and wasn't afraid from showing it._

_The old man huffed and rolled his eyes, visibly casting aside the brunet and his question, while he leaned forward on the counter and met one of the customers' eyes to make them understand that there were to put their goods on the counter. However, Eren didn't let that faze him and he merely wrinkled his nose, his eyes glaring a bit at the old man before he tilted his head and smiled brightly at him._

“ _Mommy said that security bunkers are always accessible for the customers in every shop,” the little boy chirped and his smile widened when the old man glared at him in retaliation._

_Meanwhile, the customer standing behind Eren frowned as he looked at the kid. The latter was still grinning at the old man, his bright eyes open wide as he blinked innocently at the adult. The customer cleared his throat and put his hand softly on the brunet's shoulder._

“ _Well,” the customer seemed a bit unhappy to have to intervene but the boy chalked it on the fact that they could also feel the growing tension around them. “The kid does have a point...”_

_The line of customers was getting longer now but neither Eren nor the old man did give up. However, when the clerk noticed that some of the customers were already leaving the shop, he groaned and finally ceded._

“ _Zack, come here quick!”_

_Eren tilted his head and waited, his lips thinning as he felt goosebumps creep over his arms and back. Meanwhile, a gangly looking teenager stumbled toward him, a mop of dirty blond hair covering his eyes while the little of his face that Eren could see was covered in a bad case of acne._

“ _This brat wants to see the security bunker,” the clerk told Zack with an annoyed sigh. “Go with him and make sure that he doesn't steal anything.”_

“ _Like I would,” Eren huffed angrily as he followed the teenager. He ignored the old man's retort and merely stuck to Zack's side, his eyes slightly narrowing when he noticed how tall the boy was and how noiseless it was around him. They walked to the back of the shop and stopped in front of a door which had a little panel saying “employees only”._

_Zack used a key to open it and the little boy wrinkled his nose when he saw it. His mom had always preached to him about the security bunkers and on how they should always be available because no one could know with certitude when another disaster would happen. However, Eren was surprised when the teenager didn't actually unlock the door and merely opened it with a small grunt. The two boys entered the backroom silently, facing endless empty shelves and dust, the blond flickering the lights on while the brunet began to hop nervously around, his eyes darting everywhere._

“ _Where's the bunker?” Eren asked and he almost squeaked when Zack put his hand over his mouth to silence him._

“ _Don't speak,” the teenager hushed him, his chapped lips almost not moving as he said those words. “Someone's here...”_

_Eren nodded slowly and looked around while the blond did the same, secretly lamenting the momentarily loss of his thoughts. They would have been really useful to pinpoint where the other person was._

“ _Who's there?” Zack suddenly called and Eren widened his eyes in surprise._

 _Why did the teenager call for the stranger if he already knew that the other was there? Doing that, the boy had lost any kind of advantage. But the blond didn't seem perturbed by that and merely tilted his head to the side, his nostrils flaring a bit before his chapped lips stretched into a rogue grin._  
_The teenager suddenly pounced behind one of the shelves and promptly came back, fighting against a smaller person. The two were fighting silently, each trying to overpower the other, while Eren stood by silently. The little boy didn't even consider interrupting their fight, believing that it was their own thing to deal with, and merely looked around for some kind of clue about the security bunker. He could already feel the slight tremors at his feet and the brunet gulped._

_It was an earthquake. The disaster was an earthquake._

_Would his mother be alright out there?_

_His pupils widened in horror and the little boy felt his heart stop while he realized what was really about to happen. He had to look for her. He had to make sure that she knew that another disaster was on the verge of happening. After all, she didn't have him to tell her that it would happen. And the alarm sirens still hadn't begun blaring._

_Almost as if it was to reassure him, the faint and slightly muffled sound of the sirens sounded in the backroom and Eren distinctly heard a curse that would have caused his mother to screech at him if he had said it in front of her. The little boy blinked when a young man with a cold face and gunmetal eyes suddenly irrupted in front of him and took him by his elbow before he trailed him to the back of the room, where Zack was nursing a black eye and opening the heavy door of the security bunker. The blond teenager barely acknowledged Eren and the young man, acquiescing briefly when he saw the little boy standing awkwardly next to the other male, and opened widely the door._

“ _I'll go look for my uncle and the customers,” the teenager told them with a sigh. He looked at the young man (or so it seemed to Eren, those long blond strands didn't really help) and huffed. “Don't hurt him.”_

“ _Fuck you,” the other man scoffed and flipped the bird to the blond who just shrugged it off and stalked out of the room._

_Eren blinked and hurried inside the bunker, trying his best to ignore the man with the cold face and the gunmetal eyes. But, just as the boy's foot was a mere inches from going into the bunker, a foreboding rumble echoed in the room._

“ _Shit!” the man cursed loudly and harshly pushed Eren's back, making the boy stumble and roll into the bunker room._

_However, it had been too late. The whole backroom began to shake and the two males watched with pure and undiluted horror the ceiling crack and fall over them._

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Eren frowned and narrowed his eyes, his face conveying perfectly how confused Levi's last words had made him.

“I don't remember ever telling you about this,” he commented, his voice deliberately light even if he was extremely serious about it.

Levi sighed, his eyes glancing down at his cup of tea and then at the window. He observed silently the falling rain, his lips thin and slightly pursed, while the brunet watched him attentively.

“Who said it was you?” the man whispered before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Levi let out his breath slowly and opened his eyes, finally looking at Eren. “You aren't the first with those kind of abilities that I've met in my life, Eren.”

The college student gaped at his revelation. His mouth was open wide while his eyes almost bulged in surprise, but he quickly regained his spirits and leaned forward, his elbows on the table. The brunet looked with sparkling eyes at the dark haired man and he intertwined his hands to put his chin on them, a grin on his lips.

“You met others like me?” he asked with gushing enthusiasm.

Levi reluctantly nodded, looking a bit put aback by Eren's sudden enthusiasm, and quietly took another sip of his tea.

“How were they? How many? Were they funny? Did they say anything about their abilities? Or about you?” the boy pressed on, his eyes sparkling while he almost vibrated on his seat like an overexcited puppy. In fact, the wagging tail was the only thing missing to complete the picture.

Levi snorted softly and shook his head, leaning his head against his hand while he observed quietly Eren talking animatedly to him. The adult blinked slowly when the brunet suddenly stopped talking and just looked expectantly at him with big eyes.

“What?” the dark haired man asked once he realized that the boy was waiting for him to speak.

“I wasn't letting you talk, sorry,” Eren apologized with a little nervous chuckle. He quipped his head and swiftly looked back at the older man, his eyes sparkling happily. “So, what can you tell me about the questions you got to ask those people?”

“It was a sole person,” Levi precised with a small shrug. “We kind of lived together, shared everything, so she ended telling me about it. It wasn't much so I didn't really care about it.”

“So it was a woman!” Eren was practically vibrating on his seat at this point. He blinked and then added, “Was she your mother? Your girlfriend?”

“Fuck, no!” Levi grimaced and shook his head with a disgusted face. “Isabel's way too young to be my mother and she was like my little sister.”

“Was?” Eren inquired, his voice getting softer and he looked at the table. His fingers twitched a bit under his chin but he didn't move from his spot.

“Don't worry,” Levi's words were quick enough to disperse the brief cloud of nervousness and anxiety around them, and Eren was shocked when he felt the adult's fingers carding through his hair. “She's still alive. She just left one day. Followed one of those pigs because she couldn't deal anymore with the noise.”

“Oh,” the brunet couldn't find the correct words and just sighed. He leaned his head forward, almost purring when Levi's fingers deftly ran through his hair and almost caressed his brown strands. “So it was the noise...”

Levi made a simple noncommittal sound, his fingers softly scratching Eren's smooth tresses and the adult closed briefly his eyes. They both stopped thinking for a short time, merely indulging in the moment.

“It's always the noise,” Eren commented softly, his voice being a mere murmur that was almost swallowed in the muffled sound of the rain. “It could make anyone mad. Always there, even asleep...”

“Is that why you have those attacks?” Levi asked, his eyes looking at his hands before they slowly fell over Eren's face and met the brunet's own eyes. The two men held their gaze and breathed softly.

“Sometimes,” Eren reluctantly admitted as he closed briefly his eyes. “The noise increases and becomes too much. And when it happens...”

“You just want it to stop because it feels like dying,” the adult completed with a tired sigh. His hand left the brunet's scalp and the latter refrained from complaining when he caught a glance of Levi's face. The man looked somber and melancholic, his eyes darkened by his by no means happy memories, and he sighed another time while he leaned back on his chair. The dark haired man looked back at Eren, an eyebrow raised in a silent question while he tilted his head and added, “What happens during a disaster?”

Eren made a small sound of surprise and Levi's lips twitched in an evident sign of amusement.

“Isabel never told me about it,” the man explained curtly, his expression turning wistful while his lips thinned. “But she always went into some kind of frenzy panic when a disaster occurred.”

“It's nothing big,” the brunet answered honestly, his eyes avoiding Levi's face as he searched for the proper words to explain everything. “It's just... The noise stops and it's so sudden! The rest seems muffled and no one realizes it until the alarms begin blaring.”

Levi seemed taken aback by Eren's statement and took a deep breath, his eyes widening as he blinked slowly to chase away his surprise.

“Are you really telling me that you can't hear those things during the disasters?” the man whispered in a voice that seemed almost dead to the brunet's ears. “At all?”

The latter nodded, his hands curling around the cup of tea while he took another sip of it. The tea was almost cold now and Eren grimaced when he tasted the cold chamomile in his mouth. Meanwhile, Levi closed his eyes and his face twisted into brief mask of suffering before it schooled back to his habitual poker face. The adult opened slowly his eyes and cast them upon the brunet, his eyebrows slightly furrowing as he pursed his lips.

“Eren,” Levi breathed out softly, making something twist in the boy's stomach. “How do you feel about me?”

“What?” The brunet blinked and abruptly put down his cup, wincing when he heard the fragile china hit harshly the wooden table.

However, Levi didn't bat an eyelash at it and merely leaned forward, his elbows ending on the table while he leaned his cheek against his hand, his eyes slightly hooded and lips thinned into a stern line.

“You heard me,” the adult said with a stronger voice. “How do you feel about me, Eren? Is it curiosity? Lust? Disgust?”

“W-what?” Eren repeated as he gulped nervously. He put his shivering hands on the table to hide their spasms and glared at them while he tried his best to keep his calm. But Levi didn't seem to notice his nervousness and just cocked his head, obviously waiting for his answer. The brunet finally mustered all the strength he could, and looked up at the adult, his eyes imploring him to help him a bit and just tell him what the older man really wanted.  
It was all for naught as Levi merely raised a brow and kept quiet. And, as always whenever Eren was confused as hell and didn't know at all what was happening with Levi, the brunet felt his annoyance increase. Therefore, the boy stopped being on the defensive and just attacked.

“Why are you even asking me that?” he retorted with an angry scowl as he leaned against the back of his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, the action putting him away from Levi's face.

The latter seemed to (finally) notice Eren's growing anger, and cocked his head, his cheek still leaning against his hand while he slightly pursed his lips.

“Weren't you the one who said that you had something to tell me? I just sped past the annoying bit of you spluttering and making a fool of yourself...”

“Making a fool of myself?” Eren repeated in a high voice while he furrowed his brows even more.

“ _Yes_ ,” Levi stressed out with an annoyed sigh. “Like I'm doing myself right now. I talked with Coconut Head. You know, your friend...”

“Armin,” Eren precised with an angry huff.

“Right,” the adult rolled his eyes and continued, “I talked with Armin and he told me that you were interested in me. The big question here is how, Eren. What do you think about me?”

The brunet was speechless against Levi's words. Or rather, he was infuriated by the blatant change of topic and the more than evident wish to avoid talking about Eren's ability and Levi's past. It was almost as if the man avoided every topic that could end talking about his own past. Even when he had been the one to begin and introduce his sister figure.

Feeling the anger pool in his stomach, Eren closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He deliberately ignored the fact that Levi was probably still looking at him with his hooded eyes and his parted lips that always seemed to mock him, before the brunet went over Armin's words and instructions. From the little of what Eren could remember, the blond had never really implied something about the kind of situation the college student was right now, but he was sure that the blond had planned it. Armin always planned everything. Now, if only Eren could remember what he was supposed to do.

_'You know what? Forget everything and just act as always.'_

Eren almost jerked on his seat, his eyes opening wide as he finally remembered his friend's words. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips and the brunet looked at Levi, his eyes narrowing as he reminded himself of Armin's words.  
Forget everything and act as always, uh?

Eren was going to do just that.

The brunet suddenly put his elbows on the table and leaned forward, his head ending at mere inches from Levi's surprised face, while he furrowed his brows and pursed his lips.

“You know,” the college student said airily as his eyes briefly sparkled angrily before he reigned on his ire and merely smiled brightly at the man. “I believed that I had already told you how much your behavior irked me...”

Levi frowned at his words and before the man could even protest or ask Eren what he was talking about, the boy interrupted him with a click of his tongue and added more fuel to his speech.

“It just annoys me how easily you can switch from an important conversation to another topic, without even needed a logical connection between those two. And how you just seem to expect me to connect the dots and understand everything. Well, sorry to break your little dream, Levi, but I'm not that smart. I don't understand you and it annoys me so much!” Eren stopped, his voice so soft that it had been a mere murmur and he took a deep breath, refusing to pant in front of the dark haired man.

“Why are you saying that?” Levi inquired, his brows furrowed while he visibly tried to understand Eren's sudden explosion.

“See!” the brunet exclaimed as he pointed his finger at the other male's chest. “That's how I feel about you all the time!”

Levi blinked, his eyes turning into their habitual grey color and he pursed his lips. A scowl slowly made its way on his features while the dark haired man glared at his hands. The silence quickly filled the gap between the two males and Eren raised an impressed eyebrow when he saw Levi incline his head in a silent acceptance. It looked like the brunet's point had finally been made.

“Well,” the man commented with a light voice. “If I had been you, I'd have kicked my ass. How can you deal with such a shitty feeling?”

Eren snorted and shook his head, an amused smile tugging at the corner of his lips while he looked almost fondly at the dark haired man. The latter was still frowning, a scowl similar to a pout on his lips while he glared at his empty cup of tea.

“Is that how you always feel around me, Eren?” Levi inquired as he looked up at the brunet.

“Most of the times, yeah,” Eren shrugged and he was surprised when he saw the adult cursed under his breath and run his hand through his black hair.

“I didn't know that it was that bad,” the other man admitted reluctantly with a heavy sigh. “Of course, Petra implied it when I told her about our little argument but I hadn't realized how bad it was. Shit, this is more Farlan's forte than mine...” Levi shook his head softly and closed his eyes as if he was trying to keep his calm. When he opened them again, Eren wasn't surprised to see that the man was once again calm and reigning in his feelings. His short lived nervousness had vanished from his pale face and the brunet couldn't decipher what was hidden in the adult's grey eyes.

“So we really have a problem of communication, right,” the brunet concluded while he chuckled softly.

“Right,” the dark haired man agreed with a small huff. “But I've seen worse.”

“It wouldn't surprise me,” Eren commented lightly. “Your poker face could mislead anyone...”

Levi's hands twitched and he closed his eyes.

“You have no idea about that,” he nodded slowly. “But yours is better...”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

_Eren woke up to the sound of water dripping and pants. The little boy gasped loudly as he brutally regained his consciousness and he looked fearfully around him, trying to check the damage. The ceiling had broken during the earthquake and the whole backroom had been submerged by rubble and a pipe had broke somewhere at the back because Eren could hear the water dripping continuously. The kid scrunched his face when he felt a dull pain in his stomach and he gulped loudly, wincing when his dry throat throbbed in pain as he did so. He looked down, nervously hoping that he hadn't been hurt during the earthquake and paled drastically when he noticed that he was under one of the shelves. The metal had bent under the pressure of a part of the ceiling falling over it, and parts of its metal railings had been twisted into what Eren could relate to spears.  
And one of those spears had ended on his stomach. _

_Eren took quick and short breaths, feeling his heart beat in his ears while he whined softly. His nails scratched at the metallic rod, trying to take it out of his own flesh but it only increased his pain and made him cry out loudly._

“ _Brat?”_

_A hoarse voice floated in the dusty and dark backroom, cutting swiftly through Eren's panicked cries and the little boy froze, his hands still around the spear. But the silence that soon followed turned into a frenzy of panicked whimpers and the little boy was more than relieved when he heard the hoarse voice again._

“ _So you didn't die,” the voice seemed a bit breathless and Eren furrowed his brows, tightening his grip on the spear. It was maybe a bit too breathless._

“ _Y-yeah,” the little boy answered back nevertheless. He looked up at the broken ceiling and scrunched his face when some dust got in his eyes. “The ceiling broke.”_

“ _Like I didn't fucking know that,” the other person commented acerbically._

_His comment made Eren frown. His mother had always insisted that one didn't have to curse, that it was only for those who were too weak or simply-minded to explain their opinion. Also, it was the epitome of rudeness and Carla Jaeger hated that. Therefore, Eren made a point to convey that to the voice._

“ _You shouldn't swear,” he weakly protested as his hands tried once again to take out the spear. But it was all for naught and the kid cried in pain when he felt the piece of metal slip further in his flesh._

“ _Right,” the voice snorted and then added with a bit more of emotion, “Can you move?”_

_Eren glanced at the metallic spear and sighed in relief when he noticed that it wasn't attached to the shelf. Thanks to that, he would be able to move and leave this dangerous place. And once he was outside, he could look for his mother, endure her endless complaints and go to the hospital. The worst had passed and now, Eren knew that everything would be alright once again._

“ _I can,” he said as he squirmed his way in the ruins and got to a part of the room where he was able to stand up. “Where are you?”_

“ _Here,” Eren perked up when he noticed that the voice wasn't far from where he was and he hurried there, his feet slipping over the rubble and rocks while his stomach pulsed in an indescribable pain. “I'm fucking stuck under this shit though...”_

“ _You shouldn't swear,” the little boy reminded him as a tired smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He could see the cold face peeking from under the rubble, cheeks streaked with white dust and dirty water, inky black hair almost glued to the seemingly fragile and slender head while those grey and cold eyes looked fearlessly at him. The young man pursed his pale lips and his eyes followed Eren as the boy stumbled toward him, his eyebrows furrowing when he noticed the widening stain over his dirty shirt and the hand covering the metallic rod._

“ _You alright there?”_

_Eren blinked in surprise and smiled almost cheerily at the older boy, still stumbling toward him._

“ _I'm okay,” he assured with a weak nod before he stopped in front of the young adult. “What can I do?”_

_The other boy frowned, his eyes never leaving Eren's stomach, and he bit his lips before he looked at the rubble covering him._

“ _Can you find something to lever up one of the rocks?” he inquired, his voice less breathless and more assured now that Eren was standing in front of him._

_The little boy nodded quickly and hurried to find something to use, even if he worried a bit for the burning and unending pain in his stomach. Meanwhile, the stuck young man followed him with his eyes and narrowed them when the kid walked in front of the exit and just turned away from it to take a twisted rod laying under the mess.  
The boy hadn't even considered abandoning him. Even with his obvious injury and blood loss, the kid was still trying to save a stranger._

“ _So that's what you meant,” the young man whispered to himself._

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“I don't understand,” Eren furrowed his brows and began to thrum his fingers on the table. “What do you mean by ' _yours is better_ '?”

Levi's face twisted into a brief expression of raw pain but he quickly rescheduled it back to his habitual bored self. However, the brunet caught a glance of it and he frowned when he noticed that the man hadn't intended to let him see that.

“It's nothing, really,” Levi assured with a small twitch of his lips. “It's nothing worth remembering and I'm sure that you'd prefer it that way.”

Something snapped in Eren when he heard those words, realizing how easily the adult was casting aside his own feelings.

“But you don't!” the brunet protested immediately. He stood up, his hands slapping loudly on the table while he ignored how his leg had protested against the sudden action and his elbow had all but winced with the shock. “And I want to know, Levi! Weren't you the one who asked me what I thought about you? Or the one who said that we needed better communication?”

“I never said the last one,” the dark haired man correctly with a little shrug. “But yeah.”

“Then fucking act like it!” the college student all but bellowed at him, slamming his good hand over the table. He leaned toward Levi, ignoring how the adult was looking at him with a surprised face, and narrowed his eyes angrily. “Grow a pair, Levi, and answer me without fucking avoiding the subject... _What do you feel about me?_ ”

“What happened to your ' _you shouldn't swear_ '?” Levi retorted, making Eren groan in annoyance.

The brunet stalked around the table and took the dark haired man by his shirt collar, pulling him until they ended face to face. Eren took a deep breath and ignored how those grey eyes were darkening as well as how his heartbeat was noticeably quickening.

“Fuck, Levi!” he hissed angrily as he tightened his grip on the adult's shirt. “Why aren't you honest with me and your fucking feelings for once in your shitty life! And before you even use the card of proper language, I believe that this is a situation that excuses this kind of language,” the brunet added with a threatening growl.

They were both breathing fast by now, and Eren ignored the heat pooling in the bottom of his stomach, as well as the way Levi's Adam's apple bobbed when he swallowed. The dark haired man pursed his lips and licked them briefly, his eyes never leaving Eren's while the brunet glared at him.

“You never answered my question too,” the adult reminded him, his slightly breathless voice making Eren's stomach twist at its sound.

“You're insupportable,” the latter retorted angrily as he huffed at the other man's face. “And I can't give you right now a good explanation as to why but I want us to be in a serious relationship. There! I answered your shitty question, now do it too!”

But Levi was speechless against Eren's fiery confession and just sat there, blinking slowly while the brunet grabbed angrily his shirt and was on the verge of punching him to release a bit of his pent up aggravation. However, just as the young adult was about to hit him, Levi took a deep breath and looked at the brunet.

“Why?” he asked him with the utmost straight face. “I'm way older than you, we can't seem to see eye to eye and you don't deserve this. Why?”

Eren sighed heavily, his anger slowly leaving his body when he saw Levi's lost expression and the brunet stopped gripping harshly the man's shirt. His hands never left his shirt but their hold was softer, almost like a caress to the adult's neck.

“I'm an adult, Levi,” the college student whispered as he closed tiredly his eyes. The day had been long, with Braun's impromptu irruption in his life and their argument, Eren felt as if he was dead on his feet. “We can deal with our communication problem by simply talking, and,” the boy stopped talking and opened his eyes to look at the adult, his eyes shimmering with unnamed feelings, “It's my choice if I want to go out with you, Levi.”

“You didn't answer the _why_ ,” Levi said with his voice slightly hoarse.

“Maybe because I don't know the answer?” Eren retorted as he tilted his head and looked at the man. “What about you?”

Levi closed briefly his eyes and took a deep breath before he looked up at Eren and gave him a strained smile.

“So, the 'going out' deal?” he asked.

“Yes,” the brunet nodded before he added in what was seemingly an afterthought. “Unless you have something else to share?”

Levi pursed his lips and looked briefly to his left.

“No,” he told him with a little smile. The adult raised a hand and put it on Eren's forearm, holding it softly and meeting the boy's surprised eyes. “Nothing else to share.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

_Eren yelped when the lever finally moved under his weight and the rubble began to twitch under his ministrations. The young adult seized the opportunity and, once the rock moved enough to reduce the pressure over his legs, crawled away from the hole. Meanwhile, the little boy continued pushing against the lever, gritting his teeth when he felt the warm liquid run freely over his stomach and hands. The pain had become a haze surrounding his feelings and he couldn't react quick enough when he heard the young adult scream at him._

“ _MOVE OUT!”_

_Eren looked up and screeched in horror when he saw that the rock he had been trying to move had tipped over itself and was now falling toward him. The little boy tried to back away but he had been too slow and he braced himself for the pain.  
He screamed. The pain was mind numbing and he didn't notice at all when two foreign hands began to slap his cheeks to make him regain his spirits. _

“ _Brat, hey! Wake up! Wake up!”_

_Eren whined softly and tried to shake away those hands. But he couldn't move his hands at all. Or rather, one of them seemed to be stuck under his body._

“ _'m not a brat,” he mumbled weakly. “I'm Eren...”_

“ _Okay, I got it, you're Eren. You're a strong boy, right? You won't sleep, okay?”_

_The little boy was gasping for air, the heavy dust slowly settling on his broken body. He could faintly see tiny particles of dust dancing above and taking a nice shade of red when they touched his body._

“ _Eren?! Eren, stay with me!”_

_He looked up and tried to smile at the person. The latter seemed kind of worried but he couldn't really know about it. His vision was kind of hazy. However, he could hear their prediction and they were beautiful._

“ _Fuck!” he faintly heard a hoarse voice shout before the two warm hands left his cheeks. “Fuck! This wasn't supposed to happen, Farlan!”_

_Really beautiful._

“ _I'm not the one who makes the rules, Levi,” another voice answered. This one was a bit muffled, almost as if it was going through some kind of speaker. Like a phone. “You'll have to ask Isa for that...”_

“ _He's just a brat!” the hoarse voice insisted angrily. “I can't leave him here, he'll bleed to death.”_

_So pretty. Like a sweet song lulling him to sleep._

“ _I leave the choice to you, Levi,” the other voice said calmly. “Make the one you will regret the least...”_

_A perfect lullaby._

“ _Levi Ackerman will love and protect Eren Jaeger to his dying breath,” the little boy hummed happily, his thoughts swirling around the beautiful and lovely whisper._

 

 

 **Days before the end of the world :** ****595 days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What can I say? There was some foreboding in this chapter and they are finally going out. At least something happened. 
> 
> Next chapter: _KISS, KISS, FALL IN LOVE!_


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin gets some work done while the two dorks keep dancing around each other's feet.  
> That's it. That's the chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back?  
> I finally got my computer back and have the whole story planned so get ready for quite a long story!  
> Also, for those who hoped for some reference to Ouran in this chapter: _Sorry..._ I couldn't make that happen. The vibe of this chapter didn't let it go as smoothly as I wished so... yeah.  
>  By the way, 1,5 kg makes 3,306 lbs.

Armin furrowed his brows and began to nibble quietly on the tip of his pen, a wayward strand of his fair hair falling over his forehead and curling around his nose. It made him sneeze and the young adult sighed heavily when he noted that he hadn't really listened to his lecture. The teacher was still droning over the decadence of the last empire of Occident and the blond figured that he could sneak out as he had already memorized everything about it.

He began to pack his things and gave a small nod to his neighbor. The latter was a boy with a weird two-toned hairstyle and a semi-permanent frown. However, he was one of the best students in their class and Armin knew that the boy would let him copy his notes if he were to ask. Not that he needed to as he had already studied the class before he had even taken it.

The blond quickly got out of the class and sighed once again when he remembered what had made him so absentminded during the whole day. He grimaced as he realized that he would need to make some amends to his teachers and promptly shrugged it off. While getting good grades and having the teachers under his charm was important, Eren was way more important to him.

Armin walked slowly to the bus stop and sat on a public bench, his hands clenching on the strap of his bag as he remembered those foreboding words.

_'Say, Armin, how far are you willing to go for them?'_

The boy took a deep breath and he straightened his back while he narrowed his eyes. The sky blue turned to a glacier and he pursed his lips.

For Eren, he'd do anything. Even going against the government and risking his life.

His decision made, the blond took the bus and looked coldly ahead, ready to take over anything that would block his path. His fingers clenched on the soft fabric of his trousers and the boy carefully breathed, trying his best to hide his nervousness.  
Once in front of the professor Hanji, the mere hint of it would be his downfall.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Eren couldn't stop grinning. He simply couldn't. Not when he had gotten Levi to go out with him. The mere thought made him grin even more and he glanced at the adult, his eyes widening when he noticed that the man had been looking at him too. Eren felt something in his chest flutter and he frowned a bit, wondering if it was normal to feel like that when seeing someone's face. The brunet shrugged and decided to cast that matter aside. For now, he'd rejoice in the fact that he had gotten a boyfriend. And that his boyfriend was the one who was supposed to marry him in less than two years if they wanted to save the world.

Oh, right. He still hadn't told Levi that.

Eren's face darkened as he slowly realized that, even if they had somehow talked things out, he still hadn't revealed Levi's future to the adult and, even worse, had just gone with flow without really explaining why he wanted so much to go out with the man.

“Eren?”

Said man's voice shook him away from his thoughts and the young adult looked at the man, his cheeks reddening as he was ashamed of his own cowardice.

“Are you alright?” Levi asked him while he stood away from the brunet, almost as if he was afraid to touch him. The man coughed once and then looked around, before he walked to the entryway and took his vest along with the boy's drenched coat.

Eren nodded silently and took his coat with a grateful smile. He looked at his feet, inwardly grimacing with the feeling of his drenched socks and shoes, and sighed softly. While it was true that they had accorded to go out together, there were still way too many shadows hiding between them.

“'M fine,” he muttered while he put his coat with a grimace.

“If you say so,” Levi commented with his habitual bored voice. The man blinked and flickered the lights off before he opened the door and looked insistingly at the brunet. “Come on, I will walk you home.”

Eren gaped at the sudden words and he silently followed the man, his cheeks blushing beet red when his hand grazed Levi's. The dark haired man didn't seem to notice the brunet's blushing spell and simply turned away from him to close the shop. Meanwhile, Eren tried his best to compose himself and stop being a blushing mess. He quickly patted his cheeks to focus on something else than the fact that he was going out with Levi and that the man was standing behind him, before he took a deep breath and finally calmed himself. The fact that the rain had completely drenched him once again helped too.

“Ready to go?” Levi's voice shook the college student out of his thoughts and the boy hurriedly nodded. The dark haired man raised a brow, his lips thinning as he observed how jittery the brunet was acting, and he sighed heavily. “Don't freak over it, Eren. Nothing has really changed, you know?”

“It has!” Eren immediately protested, his worries quickly forgotten while he frowned at Levi's words. The brunet clenched his fists and stormed toward the adult until he was standing at mere inches from him, their noses almost touching. “It changed!” the boy insisted. “You accepted to go out with me!”

Levi blinked and seemed taken aback by the younger man's actions. He stood there, speechless, while his recent boyfriend glared at him and huffed loudly.

“Are you perhaps doing this on purpose?” Eren asked without moving from his spot.

The brunet could see how the other man was feeling slightly trapped and he felt strangely elated to see such emotion in those grey eyes. The dark haired man frowned at him and slowly shifted his weight on his other foot while he eyed silently the college student, his eyes ending meeting Eren's.

“Doing what?” the adult inquired with a voice as perplexed as his habitual bored intonation could do.

It only fueled Eren's aggravation more. The brunet rolled his eyes and loudly huffed before they suddenly widened as he came to a realization.

“You really have no idea?” he whispered with a shocked voice. The college student shook his head with a disbelieving face. “And they call me oblivious...”

Meanwhile, Levi furrowed his brows and glared coldly at the brunet.

“What is it, Eren?” he asked with an irritated voice.

But the college student merely shook his head again and blinked in pure surprise. His former happiness slipping from his face while concern slowly took reign over it.

“Say, Levi,” Eren finally answered the dark haired man's inquiry and leaned toward him, his eyes looking at him unblinkingly while his face took a rather unfamiliar serious expression. “How do you feel about me?”

The adult's frown increased and he looked at the younger male with a disbelieving face before he rolled his eyes when he saw that Eren was serious about that matter.

“Didn't we already cover this?” Levi said with a sigh. He carded his fingers through his black hair and scowled lightly at the boy. “I accepted to go out with you, didn't I?”

And there it was.

Eren's short-lived happiness suddenly vanished like small wisps of smoke and he thinned his lips. The brunet had finally noticed that something was missing from their new relationship and it was something important.  
They had never really defined what they wanted from the other.

When Eren had asked Levi to be his boyfriend, he had asked it with the whole ' _kisses-cuddles-closeness_ ' deal in mind. But what did the adult think of their relationship? Did he think that it was the same as before, as in he was always looking out for Eren, taking him to coffee shops and feeding cakes? Was that it?

And, now that Eren didn't have his mind hazed by his nervousness or his happiness, he realized that Levi had never answered his question about his feelings toward him. Not even when they were talking in his shop. Maybe because he didn't feel anything special toward him.

And that was okay. Eren closed his eyes and clenched his fists while he took a deep breath. That was okay. It really was.  
Now, if his stomach could stop being so queasy, it'd be great.

But before the brunet could even regain his composure, Levi's irritated voice cut swiftly through the rain.

“What are you waiting for, Eren?”

The boy blinked and looked at the dark haired man, his brows furrowing when he saw that Levi was looking at him disapprovingly. His grey eyes were almost glaring daggers at his drenched form and the college student cringed under the critical gaze. But the familiar sound of the rain hitting softly an umbrella surprised him a bit and he looked back at the adult, his eyes widening when he noticed that the man was stretching his arm with the umbrella toward him. And, in the short time that this simple action had took, he had also been thoroughly drenched.

“Come on,” Levi hissed angrily while he shook the umbrella, sending a new rain of droplets over Eren's face. “We don't have all night...”

The brunet nodded dumbly and hurried to get under the umbrella, his eyes glancing at the man standing under the rain and stretching his arm to his utmost capacities just to shield him. Eren still had to bend his knees a bit though.

“Let's go,” the adult added sternly while he stepped under the umbrella and grimaced.

Eren watched him from the corner of his eyes and swallowed discreetly when he noticed a raindrop sliding slowly on Levi's face and stopping at his jaw, caressing it until it fell and disappeared in the folds of his former white shirt. It was in fact turning almost transparent and Eren had never been so thankful that Levi was wearing a black vest over his habitual white shirt.

They began walking, Eren sometimes stumbling over nothing and being drenched by the rain as Levi never stopped on time to let the brunet catch with him. It soon became annoying for both of them and Eren ended interlacing his arm with Levi's just to make sure that their steps would be coordinated. The man didn't comment on that and merely arched a brow before they walked with more assurance in the empty shopping street.

“You don't have a car?” Eren asked when the sound of the rain falling around them became tiring to his ears and they walked past a parking lot.

Levi pursed his lips and shook his head, his drenched hair flapping briefly before it got once again stuck tightly against his pale face.

“No,” the man reluctantly answered while he wistfully looked at the cars. “To drive a car, a driving license is needed and for that, one needs to be registered.”

Eren widened his eyes at the underlying admission from the habitually secretive adult. He would have loved to press on further and discover a bit more about Levi, find why the man wasn't registered when it was obligatory since the beginning of their country, and maybe finally discover why Levi acted so weirdly sometimes and just refused to talk about his feelings. While it was true that he just wanted to do that, Eren felt that now would be the worst time to do it. So, following his gut feeling, he hummed lightly at the man's words and just tightened his hold on his arm.

Since Levi had admitted that he didn't have a car, and that Eren didn't have one too (a car was something way too pricey for a college student. And the public transports in the town were top notch so he had never feeling the necessity of having one), they both walked to the subway in silence. Once they got in the underground, Levi closed his umbrella with a small sigh and shook it softly, his grey eyes looking with a distant glint at the small droplets flying everywhere. Eren observed him silently, standing by his side while they waited.

“Eren?”

“Hm?” the brunet looked at Levi with a tired face, he was slowly becoming drowsy and his eyes itched a bit. In fact, he just wanted to curl on the floor, even if it was the subway floor, and sleep for a whole month.

Levi frowned, his bored face twisting briefly in worry before he concealed it in the blink of an eye. He played absentmindedly with the handle of his umbrella and looked at it with dark eyes. Meanwhile, Eren yawned loudly and rubbed his dropping eyelids. It was almost as if he had been suddenly hit by a sleeping curse.

“If I told you,” the man added almost reluctantly, his eyes glancing from time to time at the rails and then at Eren's sleepy face. The brunet's head bobbed faintly as he fought against his sleepiness. His eyelids felt as it they weighted tons.

Levi took a deep breath and clenched his fists before he swiftly turned toward the college student and looked intensively at him.

“If I told you how I feel about you,” he completed with a voice way more confident. “Would the way you act around me change?”

Eren blinked and rubbed the palm of his hands against his tired eyes. He could feel something akin to nervousness blossom in his chest but the sleepy spell was actually quite useful. It was successfully keeping it at bay while the brunet could slowly realize what Levi had been implying.

“Are you scared that I'd change if you did?” he asked softly, his voice being a mere whisper in the empty subway station.

Levi shuffled slightly and tapped the tip of his umbrella on the damp tiles, his eyes flashing briefly in worry while he furrowed his brows. The adult shrugged and his eyes met Eren's curious ones. He seemed to see something in the brunet's eyes because Levi sighed softly and acquiesced.

“It could be,” the man admitted with another shrug. His eyes left Eren's intense gaze and flickered back to his umbrella, following the numerous raindrops that were slowly sliding through the waterproof cloth.

Eren yawned and quickly rubbed the tiny tears that had been born from the yawn. He could feel happiness bubble once again in his chest and welcomed it with open arms now that it was back. The brunet shook his head and stepped toward the dark haired man, his lips stretching into a warm smile while he stood in front of him.

“Then,” Eren breathed out happily as he slowly lost his fight against sleep. “If it's like that, nothing will change between us.”

The brunet noticed how Levi got rid of his tenseness, and smiled even more when their eyes met.

“Thank you, Eren,” the dark haired man told him softly, seconds before the college student fell asleep. “You have no idea how much this matters to me...”

Eren nodded sleepily and stumbled toward the man, his eyes falling shut while he burrowed his head in the crook of his neck.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Armin closed the door behind him and furrowed his brows when he noticed a stranger sitting beside the professor Hanji. His blue eyes narrowed as he carefully observed the blond hair, styled in an almost military fashion, the cold blue eyes that were also observing him and the sharp cheekbones that gave the man an imposing air.  
The college student tightened his hold on his bag and his eyes flickered nervously to the grinning professor before they went back to the blond stranger.

“Ah, Armin! The man of the day!” Professor Hanji suddenly exclaimed as they stood up and walked with wide steps toward him.

The younger blond merely blinked in surprise and watched how the brown haired scholar strode past the stranger and hugged the living daylights out of him.

“Don't worry about Erwin,” Hanji whispered in his ear. “He's with us.”

Armin nodded gawkily and followed the professor's advice when they asked him to take a seat. He sat beside the man named Erwin and watched from the corner of his eyes how the latter was looking at him with a fleeting smile on his lips. It made his skin prickle and the college student inwardly cursed his fate. Seems like Eren's ability to always end in the worst situations had infected him with the same curse.

“Well, well, well,” Hanji giggled once they were both sitting. They interlaced their fingers over their desk and their brown eyes sparkled maliciously while they glanced at the two blonds. “I believe we all know why we are here, right?”

Armin shuffled nervously on his chair and glanced at Erwin, furrowing his brows when he noted that the man had a polite smile on his lips and was leaning his chin on his right hand. It was gloved and the college student narrowed his eyes when he noticed that the other blond had his two hands gloved. And the day hadn't been that cold too.

So, someone who had been in a high post somewhere in the military, maybe in the police, and had been discharged after losing an arm. Maybe both.

Armin pursed his lips and carefully put his hands on his knees before he looked up at Hanji. The professor was looking at him too, with a smile on their lips as they had seemingly noticed his thoughts.

“Erwin,” Hanji added cheerily. “Tell him.”

The older blond inclined his head to the side and looked at Armin, his stern blue eyes judging him silently before he nodded. His thin lips parted while he sighed softly and the college student frowned at the evident unwillingness.

“Hanji asked me to follow you until I found out who the seer was,” Erwin revealed, his eyes looking at the other blond unblinkingly, daring him to protest or accuse him.

However, Armin had been ready for something along those lines and accepted it regally, merely tilted his head to the side and glancing briefly at Hanji's unrepentant face.

“I knew this would happen sooner or later,” he admitted with a carefully calculated shrug. Then, minding his tone, he added, “That's why I limited my contact with them this past week.”

Erwin's polite smile hardened and the adult acquiesced, his eyes narrowing considerably.

“It's too bad that the seer had already been suspected before,” the older blond commented lightly while his harsh eyes contradicted his voice.

“Too bad indeed,” Armin retorted as lightly as Erwin, his face slowly losing any kind of emotion while he carefully checked in his memories how many times he had spoken with Eren during this past week. And if the brunet had been suspected before. They had always been careful with that, Eren's clients had always been contacted after following a strict bunch of rules that Armin had made sure his friend always followed. And he had encoded those clients' data in his computer to make sure they didn't snitch. Even Eren's stalkers had been correctly dealt with.

So it there had been a leak, it hadn't been from their side.

“Erwin, stop scaring him and get on the interesting part!” Hanji chided the detective and both blonds blinked in surprise.

“Right,” Erwin reluctantly accorded and he tilted his head faintly, leaning his cheek against his palm while he glanced at Armin's face, observing the other blond's reactions to his words. “I've noticed two particularly interesting fellows following the seer.”

“Indeed, indeed!” Hanji chirped happily while they pushed back their glasses on their crooked nose. Their overexcited words shook Armin away from his thoughts and the blond glanced at the professor. The latter was smiling almost madly at him and twirling happily a pen between their deft fingers. “How much do you know about the government facilities for the talented? Or about the talented ones employed there?”

Armin frowned at the professor's words and he tilted his head, ignoring Erwin's interested eyes looking at him, while he thought about his answer. He remembered the guy that had been with Eren at the steak house and what little he had heard about him. The guy had knew way too much of the government to have never been implicated in there. Maybe he came from those government facilities? And he did have the same kind of powers than Eren. So, did that mean that the talented ones were people possessing abilities like Eren? Seers hidden behind those stern walls?

The blond closed his eyes and furrowed his brows while he accepted that new-found information. So, the blond guy hadn't been alone when he had accosted Eren, Armin supposed that if he had escaped from the facilities, he had done it with someone else. Maybe a partner. And they had both been looking for Eren. Maybe because his best friend was a seer and they needed his ability to know of something crucial for them. And the guy had also admitted that everyone's ability varied too much to be effectively consigned. Armin nodded, this was something.

But where did the professor Hanji and Erwin stand in all of this?

From what little Armin knew, Eren didn't really have allies in this intricate mess. The government made scans to find the seers right when they were born and put them in their facilities for the talented. And then? What did they do? From what the blond guy had implied, it wasn't really good for Eren. They killed the seers after all.

Armin clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. So the government was against Eren. More or less. That made contacting professor Hanji a really big mistake of his part. The college student sighed and his fingers twitched when he remembered that the scholar had contacted a detective, Erwin, to follow him and find Eren. Erwin was good at it because he had already done his job and was now reporting it to him.  
Was it to threaten him? Armin frowned and opened his eyes to look coldly at the man, silently assessing the situation. His eyes traveled from the blond to the brown haired professor, and they widened when they caught sight of Hanji's wide smile.

It wasn't to threaten him. But to blackmail him.

“I know enough,” Armin finally answered, his eyes hardening as he nodded and folded his arms. “What do you want me to do? I guess it's an infiltration job, right?”

Hanji's smile faltered before they suddenly cackled and jumped to smother him in a hug. The college student grimaced when he smelled their pungent body odor (they hadn't bathed in a week) and he silently endured the hug.

“Oooh,” Hanji crooned while they caressed Armin's hair. “I really like you, kid! If you survive this, I'll make you my assistant!”

Survive this? Armin's eyes narrowed and he felt a spike of fear run through his body before he concealed it. The boy gritted his teeth and soldiered on, ignoring Erwin's knowing eyes.

“So what do you want me to do?” the younger blond asked once his fear was carefully concealed.

Hanji's smile widened and their eyes shone mysteriously. The scholar let go of Armin and pranced back behind their desk, ruffling quickly through their messy papers laying over the desk before they shouted and threw a folder to the college student's face.

Armin squeaked and fumbled with the file, his fingers clumsily grasping the manila and almost letting go of it before he finally took it and glanced at the first page with a pensive frown.

“An internship?” he whispered with incredulity painted over his face.

“Yup!” Hanji nodded and they stalked to the younger blond's side to take him by his shoulders, shaking them excitedly. “I had to pull some strings but I got you a place in one of the government facilities! Aren't I great?”

Armin smoothed the creases over the manila folder and furrowed his brows, his blue eyes hazing while he slowly considered what was expected of him during his internship. He supposed that he'd have to find things that Hanji didn't have access to, even if they were an eminent professor employed by the government. Truthfully speaking, the blond didn't see how an intern could find more than such a famous scholar. Except if Hanji was actually counting on his almost invisibility (who cared about interns after all?) to search in the governmental facility.

That made sense.

“Okay,” Armin nodded and began to put away the file in his bag. “Should I focus on the seers or should I also look for information on the other abilities?”

“Oooh,” Hanji trilled happily and they shook his shoulders even harder. “You priceless and adorable boy! Focus on the seers! I have already put Erwin on the 'other powers' case.”

Really?

Armin raised an interested brow and glanced at the other blond, his eyes narrowing when he caught the adult smirking at him. The college student huffed softly and chided himself for letting his irritation show on his face.  
He didn't have the time nor the opportunity to let his emotions influence his actions. Not when he had just accepted to infiltrate a government facility. All of it while he still didn't know if he could trust the professor Hanji. And now, there was that Erwin man too. The adult seemed way too shrewd for Armin's liking and the latter feared that Erwin had already found out Eren.

But that was for later. Armin took a deep breath and slowly let it out, straightening his bag on his shoulders and saying his goodbyes to the two adults while he walked to the door. Just as he turned his back to the two other, the college student smirked and closed the door behind him.

Unlike them, he had already gotten information thanks to the blond guy that had stalked Eren.

“Trust no one,” he whispered to himself as he walked to the elevators. His lips quivered faintly while he crushed any bit of anxiety and fear, and he instead let the excitation bubble forward. He had always loved the old spy movies that his grandpa liked so much and hid in his basement.

Sometimes, Armin really wondered if his life would have been as exciting as it was now if he hadn't met Eren. He supposed that it'd be an incredibly boring life.

His eyes flickered to his bag and he smiled widely at the prospect of spying the government for his friend's sake. The old boring days had passed and he couldn't help but be slightly remorseful that he wouldn't miss them.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Eren woke up to the familiar sound of a keyboard clicking while someone angrily used it. The brunet furrowed his brows before he even opened his eyes and he sighed heavily.

“Armin?” he muttered, his face still burrowed in his pillow, and the angry typing stopped.

“Yeah?” the blond's voice was strangely even, as if the boy didn't want him to find out the reason of his anger. His fingers had come back to type on the keyboard, hitting harshly every letter and sometimes insisting on the space bar. The netbook was an old model and his keyboard had sometimes some fault, making using it extremely irritating to the normally calm boy.

Eren smiled vaguely in his pillow, remembering progressively what had happened the other day, and he slowly raised his head out of his pillow before he opened blearily his eyes. He wasn't really surprised when he saw that he was laying in his bed, his prosthesis back on his shelf, and that Armin was sitting on his chair, his feet propped on his desk. The blond had a pen between his lips and was furrowing his brows, his fingers deftly typing on the old computer. Eren's eyes glanced with curiosity at the timer standing on his desk and he furrowed his brows when he heard the distinctive tick in the otherwise silent bedroom.

“What are you doing in my room?” the brunet asked with curiosity, not at all perturbed by the fact that his best friend liked to stay in his bedroom while he slept blissfully ignorant.

“Timing your naps,” Armin answered him absentmindedly, deleting something on his report before he sighed heavily and turned off his computer. He closed it and put it back on the desk, fetching the timer and stopping it with a small frown. “That one was four hours longer than the previous one.”

Eren blinked and decided to shrug it off. He stretched his arm toward his shelf and took his prosthetic arm before he began to put it on his elbow, deftly tying it and rolling his shoulder once he was satisfied with the result. Then, while Armin muttered something under his breath and bolted out of the room to fetch something, probably another notebook to write down his observations, the brunet took his prosthetic leg and frowned when he noticed a post-it card stuck on the metallic limb.

“Armin?” Eren called, his voice faintly trembling while he took the post-it and put it on his bed. His hands were slightly trembling as they put his prosthetic leg over his severed knee.

“Hm?” the blond vaguely answered while he walked back in the room with their scale and a fuming cup of coffee.

“Why was there a post-it card saying that I have to thank Levi on my leg?” the brunet asked as he stood and took the cup of coffee from his friend's hands.

“Because Levi had to carry your sorry ass while you slept like a baby,” Armin shrugged and put down the scale, his eyes narrowing as they observed Eren and the way his clothes hung way too loosely over his body. “Weight yourself, please.”

Eren rolled his eyes and took a step toward the scale, his naked foot almost slipping over the cold machine and he sighed when he saw that the numbers weren't the same as a week ago.

“Loss of 1,5 kg,” Armin whispered to himself before he bolted once again out of the room and went to fetch another notebook. He wrote down the new information and frowned as he noticed the worrying data. “Again.”

Eren had lost the same amount of weight every week but always regained it some time after. And, strangely enough, the most worrying weight loss were every two weeks. Also, they had made sure that the brunet ate enough and exercised. He was probably one of the only college student who had such a healthy lifestyle. And yet, Eren was still losing weight, having narcolepsy and sometimes even seizures. However, once every two weeks, everything vanished and the boy was once again in tiptop shape. So what was it? What was the thing that always made the brunet get better? Or worse?

“Could we stop doing this?” Eren sighed and jumped away from the scale, slurping loudly his coffee while he pranced to their bathroom. “After all, I'm going to get better next week...”

“Next week,” Armin whispered as he munched pensively on his pen. “That reminds me, I'm starting an internship next week...”

Eren hummed and closed the bathroom door before he jumped under the shower head and glanced at his prosthetic arm. Sometimes, he really regretted that he hadn't bought the waterproof one.

“Where so?” he asked loudly while he fought against his prosthesis and tried to take it off.

“In Shina facility,” the blond answered him as he walked in the bathroom and leaned against the door, blinking in surprise when he noticed that Eren was fighting against his prosthetic arm. “Do I want to know?”

“No,” the brunet grumbled. “Now, help me and take this thing off.”

Armin snorted softly and shook his head before he helped his friend. He deftly untied the prosthetic limb and carefully put in the sink, absentmindedly noting the faint scratches peppering the metallic arm.

“When's your next appointment with doctor Moblit?” the blond asked as he caressed the limb and frowned whenever he felt a scratch over it. Eren was way too clumsy for his own good.

“In two days,” the brunet answered as he threw his boxers at his friend's feet and jumped under the hot water, softly cursing under his breath when the burning droplets pelted his sensible skin.

“Do you want me to go with you?” Armin tilted his head and shyly looked away. He still had some problems with Eren's lack of modesty.

“No,” the other boy shook his head and began to wash his hair. “I'll go with Levi. He insisted.”

“Oh,” the blond smirked and cupped his chin pensively. “And speaking of Levi, how is it going with him?”

Eren grinned at him.

“I'm going out with him.”

“You're shitting me,” Armin widened his eyes and felt as if he had been punched right in the solar plexus.

“No,” Eren grinned even more and began to laugh when he saw his friend's shocked face.

“Holy shit,” the blond added as he slowly came back to his senses. “You did it. You, Eren Jaeger, virgin extraordinaire, did it. Tell me. _Everything_.”

And Eren did. With a wide shit-eating grin.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Two days later, Eren wasn't rejoicing so much. Mostly because he had gotten the tongue-lashing of his life, thanks to an extremely irritated Armin who had told him that he was probably the most oblivious guy on Earth. And that the blond couldn't believe that Levi was the same because both of them were so awkward that none had actually told the other his true feelings. Or why they wanted to go out with the other.

“For all we know, Levi could actually mean that he just wanted to be friends with you!” Armin had lashed out before he had suddenly sobered and began kneading his forehead. “You know what? Keep doing whatever you're doing, it seems to be working. But I want your next date to be with me and Mikasa.”

“With you and Mikasa,” Eren had repeated with a frown. “Why?”

“Because that way, we will be able to make sure you both talk of your feelings.”

The brunet had just shrugged and accepted Armin's inquiry, feeling assured that Levi's feelings were the same as his. As in, they were a messy cluster of nervousness, irritation and actual affection for the other.

His cheeks blushed faintly while he remembered the talk back then in the subway, the way Levi's eyes had always hesitated between his umbrella and his face, the way the adult had played with the umbrella while he looked for his words.

“Are you cold?” Levi's bored voice startled Eren out of his memories and the college student blushed even more when he noticed that the adult was looking at him with a brow raised inquisitively. The vague memory of the man looking at him nervously was enough to make him turn cherry red. “I told you that you should have taken a scarf,” the dark haired man added with a small scoff.

“It's nothing,” the brunet mumbled while he zipped his vest to its collar and shied away from Levi's eyes.

“Right,” the latter huffed before he shrugged and began to walk. However, he stopped after two mere steps and glanced back at the college student. “You coming?”

Eren nodded and he hurried to Levi's side, his cheeks slowly taking a more normal color. They walked silently and both sighed softly as the air around them became too heavy for them.

“Did you hear about the next disaster?” the dark haired man asked as they passed his street and waited for the light to turn green.

“Yeah,” the brunet acquiesced and he concealed a yawn behind his gloved hand. “It should be tonight, right?”

Levi made a vague sound as an approval, and softly tugged Eren by his sleeve once the light turned green. He didn't let go of the boy's sleeve and the latter didn't comment on it. However, while the crowd around them got thicker and the dark haired man was about to let go of his sleeve, Eren took his hand and intertwined their fingers with a decided scowl. His eyes met Levi's and they both glared at each other, the brunet daring the adult to let go of his hand, while the latter was just irritated by his cheekiness.

“What are you waiting for, old man?” Eren teased him as he quickened his strides.

Levi scowled at him and tightened his hold on his hand before he tugged at it and made the college student stumble. The boy almost fell and, if it hadn't been for the dark haired man's reflex, he'd have ended head first on the sidewalk. However, Levi had been fast enough and had used his free hand to right the brunet.

“Careful there,” he whispered as Eren took a step back. His hand lingered over the college student's shoulder and suddenly fell back. However, they were still holding hands and the brunet made sure to convey his gratitude by squeezing softly Levi's hand before he let it go. The adult frowned briefly and immediately took Eren's hand back, intertwining their fingers with a small huff. “Come on,” he told him with a small tug of their joined hands. “We'll be late.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Levi closed the door behind him and leaned against it with a sigh. He carded his fingers through his hair, pushing back the rare strands that habitually fell over his forehead and closed his eyes tiredly. The memory of Eren's stumps hovered behind his closed eyelids and the dark haired man gritted his teeth. His nails scratched his scalp and he hissed softly through his gritted teeth, trying to put his raging feelings aside. He could still remember how Eren's eyes had sought his and had dared him to feel pity at the sight of his bony body and evident stumps. The way those green eyes had flashed threateningly when Levi had tried to look elsewhere. The way the boy had asked him to stay by his side. Or the way he had thanked him when they went to his favorite teashop and he bought him another sponge cake.

Levi opened his eyes and looked at the thin rays of sun streaming through his hall, the small rays coloring his broken tiles with orange and red. Faint particles of dust floated in the light and the dark haired man took a deep breath as it reminded him of another day, when a kid had been laying in a pool of his blood, looking at him with the same daring eyes.

Memories of those shivering fingers weakly grasping his sleeve gave him goosebumps and the adult closed his eyes once again, his two hands covering his face as he tried to forget his errors.

' _Levi, you can't escape your fate_ ,' Isabel's voice floated hauntingly in his mind and the dark haired man shook his head.

He shouldn't have talked about her to Eren. The boy didn't have to know about her, even if she had been the one to tell him to do it.

The faraway alarms startled him a bit and Levi sighed. It was time to get in his bunker and endure the disaster. He glanced at his wristwatch and furrowed his brows. From what he'd seen in the morning report, the disaster was supposed to begin in forty-five minutes. That gave him more than enough time to make some tea and take it to his bunker. And maybe he'd also take the book Petra had given him, arguing that he'd learn a bit about relationships from it. The man nodded to himself, his decision made, and walked to his kitchen. His cellphone bipped and he raised a brow, surprised by the call. Telecommunications were habitually cut off thirty minutes before a disaster so if someone were to call him, it wouldn't be for nothing.

Could it be Farlan?

Levi frowned and accepted the call, putting the cellphone against his ear and shoulder while he prepared his tea. The water began to warm as his niece's familiar voice echoed nervously.

“Uncle? Are you perhaps with Eren?”

“No,” Levi answered truthfully while he watched with bored eyes the water.

Mikasa swore loudly and her uncle raised his brows in surprise. His niece wasn't something to be so crude. Unless something unsettling had happened.

“What happened?” he asked calmly as he turned off the kettle. The water quieted down but he didn't take out a cup.

“Eren's alone,” Mikasa told him in a whisper.”Armin just called me, it seems that he stayed late at the library and went to the college refuge. Eren's alone, Levi.”

“So what?” the man retorted while he briskly walked to the hall. He took his vest and swiftly put it on his shoulders. The alarms were still blaring outside.

“The disaster's an earthquake, uncle!” the young woman cried out, stress eating her words. “And Eren can't deal with them alone, he's...”

The call was suddenly interrupted and Levi glanced at his wristwatch, cursing under his breath when he saw that there were only thirty minutes left before the disaster. He gritted his teeth as Mikasa's words echoed in his mind and opened harshly his front door.

_'The disaster's an earthquake, uncle! And Eren can't deal with them alone!'_

Levi bolted outside and began to run as if the devil was on his tail.

' _Levi, you can't escape from your fate_ ,' Isabel had once told him. ' _There are some persons that you'll never be able to save._ '

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Eren closed tightly his eyes and covered his ears with his hands, curling in his couch while he tried his best to think of something interesting. The alarms were still blaring their announcement about the incoming earthquake and the brunet could feel a panic attack coming. He gritted his teeth and forbid himself from trembling. Being that scared when the disaster hadn't even begun was shameful.

He was startled when the intercom buzzed loudly and creaked open an eye to glance at the screen. His eyes shot open in surprise when he saw Levi's irritated face covering almost the whole screen and hurried upstairs, pushing the door open without even caring about the impending earthquake. The door hadn't even been completely opened and Levi was already hurrying inside. The dark haired man had taken Eren's by his elbow and pulled him to the personal bunker, ignoring everything around him and didn't let go of him until the bunker door was tightly closed.

“Why the fuck were you alone?” Levi suddenly turned toward the brunet and stalked until their nose were almost touching. “You should have told me!”

Eren blinked, his eyes flickering briefly to the adult's lips and then back to his gunmetal eyes, before he answered his inquiry.

“I thought Armin would get back,” he whispered and got ready to argue. However, before he could even add something else to his answer, the alarms stopped blaring and a deathly silence reigned in the bunker. Eren's eyes widened in horror and he noticed that he could see himself in Levi's pupils. But that didn't matter.

Because he couldn't hear Levi's prediction.

“It's beginning,” the brunet whispered in horror.

Levi cursed under his breath and his arms suddenly surrounded Eren's shaking body, forcing the boy to focus on the unrelenting force pressing his back and shoulders. The brunet's legs buckled under his weight and he fell against the dark haired man's body. The latter merely huffed when it happened and swept the brunet from his feet before he took him in his arms and walked to the couch. Levi sat on it, Eren on his lap, and glanced at the brunet's livid face with a scowl.

“It's beginning,” the boy repeated, his voice being a mere whisper that gave Levi goosebumps.

The adult sighed softly and leaned forward until his face ended at mere inches from Eren's. The boy's eyes were dull and Levi clicked his tongue when he noticed it.

“I'm with you, Eren,” he said calmly. The brunet didn't seem to hear him and the dark haired man sighed again. “I'm with you. Everything is fine. Your friends are safe. I'm safe. You're safe. Everything is fine.”

The words rolled easily on his tongue and Levi wondered idly how many times he had actually said them. Back then, when he still lived with Isabel, he had had to say them so often that they became something along a mantra.  
And now that he was sitting with Eren's shivering frame on his lap, Levi didn't know if he was grateful for Isabel's frequent panic attacks. Or just horrified that both teens had been so affected by those disasters that he had become their caretaker.

Levi tightened his hold over Eren's shaking body and scowled when he remembered Isabel's screaming and cries. Eren's reactions were tamer than Isabel's. However, they were as worrying as hers. Maybe because he knew what really scared the brunet.

“I'm with you, Eren,” repeated Levi as he moved the boy until his head was leaning on the crook of his neck. The college student nuzzled his neck a bit and the dark haired man tensed as he did so. That move had made him remember what had happened in the subway station and provoked quite a reaction in his body that he hadn't expected. However, now wasn't the moment to get flustered. Not when he had a shocked boy in his arms. Especially when there was some dust falling from the ceiling and the walls shook softly around them.

“Everything is fine,” the adult whispered as he felt tears run over his neck.

The brunet's shaking slowly stopped and Levi sighed once again as he rubbed calming circles on the boy's back. His lips hovered above Eren's forehead and, after hesitating during five minutes, kissed softly his feverish skin.

“I'm sorry I left without you...” Levi's hushed voice came out as a mere breath and caressed the brunet's ears while the latter slowly calmed down. But the effect of those words was like a slow poison and his previous slowing heartbeat swiftly accelerated while adrenalin began to flow in his system.

Eren's eyes snapped open, his pupils dilating as a rush of memories flooded in his mind.  
He remembered everything.

And above everything else, he remembered Levi.

 

 **Days before the end of the world** **:** _593 days._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it me or Levi was a little bit less awkward than before? Was there actually some progress between the two lovebirds? 
> 
> Next chapter: _Farlan_.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin's a super spy. Erwin isn't. Farlan is there. And then, there's the awkward couple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the chapter you waited so much for. Alas, college was hell those last week, some people pushed me in the stairs (twice) and I sprained my (two) ankles, I got under a heavy medication for the pain, and as such, the chapter got really delayed. Sorry about that. (Also, I got addicted to the movie Kingsman. Seriously, I can't stop reading fanfics, send help)
> 
> But the chapter's here! And so is Farlan and angst! (Kidding for the last one, I can't write angst. Alas for me)  
> And the chapter wasn't really proofread so please, excuse any mistakes you see. Actually, tell me if you see any.

_Those whispers were probably the prettiest thing he'd heard in a long while. Eren smiled dreamily, his lips moving sluggishly as he did so, and the boy opened blearily his eyes. He frowned sluggishly when his eyelids didn't open as quickly as he had wanted and the child looked with mild surprise at the panicked face._

“ _Eren! Stay with me, okay? Don't go to sleep, you can't! Am I clear?”_

_The panicked face's lips were moving and Eren could faintly hear some muffled words coming from it. However, the little boy was way too sleepy to actually answer the face and he merely blinked, his lips stretching into a faint smile while he was lulled to sleep by the pretty whisper._

“ _Fuck this shit!” the panicked face's voice was hoarse, now that Eren actually listened to it. The kid furrowed faintly his brows and tried his best to open his eyes a little bit wider, wanting to see why this face had a voice so hoarse when he knew that it shouldn't be as panicked and hoarse. “Isa! Where are you?”_

“ _Outside,” a voice answered. It was way calmer than the first voice, and almost singing with the way those vowels rolled on its tongue. “We borrowed a truck so you just have to go outside.”_

“ _I can't just go outside!” the panicked face insisted angrily. “I can't just leave the kid here!”_

“ _Then take him with you,” the melodious voice retorted._

_A heavy sigh followed those words and Eren closed his eyes, the nice and pretty whisper hovered around him insidiously._

“ _Got it,” a sigh and then Eren felt two cold hands cup his face and caress his cheeks. “I guess you've already everything planned?”_

“ _Of course, big bro!”_

_Eren smiled softly and leaned his head against those cold hands, his lips slowly stretching into a contented smile._

“ _Don't leave me,” he muttered with some difficulty._

“ _Don't worry,” the panicked face answered him while those cold hands tightened their hold. “I'm not going anywhere.”_

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

On his first day in his internship, Armin learned two things about him. One being that he didn't like at all being up so early in the morning. And the second, that he was an amazing actor whenever he was stressed out.

And thus, as the day passed on and the blond learned all the tricks at being an intern, Armin also learned that he was a pro at being inconspicuous. He had localized the archives during one of his multiple coffee refill trips (and it seemed that he had gotten his internship just to give those stressed and tired scientists their coffee refills) and was already planning on going there during his next trip. However, the other intern had made this quite difficult as he had never taken his eyes away from the nervous blond.  
And just as he thought about the other intern, the latter appeared with his habitual scowl and annoyed sigh.

“Arlelt,” the intern barked. “Hitch is calling for you!”

“Coming!” Armin fumbled nervously with the two cups of coffee and pushed them in the intern's arms while he ran to the scientist.

The other intern, some guy named Kirstein, furrowed his brows and sighed heavily as he realized that he'd have to look for the two scientists waiting for their coffee.  
Meanwhile, Armin hurried in the stairs and stopped short at the highest floor. He patted down his hair, took a deep breath and finally knocked lightly at the door leading to the assistant Hitch. She was one of the former interns who had gotten a job thanks to her good grades during her internship. Something that she hadn't forgotten to say when she had met the two new interns. And, strange as it may seems, she seemed to hate Armin's guts. Maybe it had something to do with the boiling hot coffee that the blond had dropped all over her white blouse.  
Maybe.

Armin snickered inwardly and promptly put a nervous but gentle facade over his stressed self. He was actually quite perplexed as to why a brilliant scientist (because Hitch had to be one if she got a job there) would be out for his blood when he hadn't done much to deserve it.

Well, while it was true that he planned on spying their most hidden secrets and maybe destroy the government if Eren's life was endangered, Armin was pretty sure that Hitch hadn't caught that when she had decided that the young intern was going to be her new victim.

“You're finally here,” Hitch muttered as she stared with contempt at Armin. The latter merely smiled bashfully at her and tried his best to convey innocence. “What happened? You couldn't find the coffee machine?”

“Uh?” Armin replied oh so smartly while he wondered why such a brilliant mind could be fixed on such petty things. Come on, it was just coffee.

“Ugh,” the young scientist groaned and shook her head. She ran her hand through her curled hair and suddenly pointed a finger at Armin's chest while her lips curled into a delighted smile. “Talking to you decreases my IQ...” she turned and walked angrily to her desk just as the blond rolled his eyes. “Here! As it seems that you're too stupid to even fetch some coffee without spilling it, how about you go and put some order in the archives?”

Armin widened his eyes in surprise and it took him some seconds to realize that he was supposed to be horrified to work in the archives. So, he quickly wiped the bright smile from his lips and instead made his best gloomy face while he nodded silently. Meanwhile, Hitch watched him with a smirk, probably thinking that she had made his day the worst in his life, and as such had properly avenged her blouse. (Seriously, it was just coffee)

And thus, Armin got a free pass to go in the archives and read everything without raising any suspicion. This had been way easier than the detective Smith had let him believe.

The college student shrugged as he remembered the former policeman's hard stare while the latter was going over every bad thing that could happen to him during his internship. That hadn't been a happy memory. Armin slapped softly his cheeks and nodded with a decided scowl as he stopped right in front of the archives door. His hand hovered above the doorhold and he furrowed his brows, feeling as if someone was looking at him. The blond looked over his shoulder and, as expected, saw the other intern. The latter still had the two coffee cups in his hands, and his face was the perfect picture for intense aggravation.

“What the fuck, Arlelt!” the boy immediately blew his fuse and stalked aggressively towards Armin who merely stood by, an eyebrow daringly raised. “You can't do that! You can't leave me with those coffee when I have no fucking idea to whom I'm supposed to give them!”

“Ah,” the other intern said simply as he blinked in surprise. “I'm sorry about that, Kirstein.”

“Call me Jean,” Kirstein sighed heavily and shook his head. “I hate that name.” Jean cocked his head, glancing at the small panel over the door behind Armin and slightly widened his eyes. “So what did you do to deserve such punishment?”

“Nothing,” Armin shrugged and looked back at the closed door. “I'm supposed to put some order in the archives.”

Jean grimaced in compassion and his brown eyes flickered back to his two cups of coffee. The blond noticed him doing so and clicked his tongue as he realized that he still hadn't told Jean where he was supposed to go.

“One of those is for Marlo,” he explained with a polite smile. “And the other's for Ilse. Do you know where their offices are?”

“Yeah,” the other intern nodded and sighed heavily as he knew that he had to take the stairs more than once for his little delivery job. “Who would have thought that our internship would suck so much...”

“Really?” Armin retorted while he blinked his blue eyes in surprise. “I've found it fascinating so far. Did you know that they even have an office for weaponry development?”

“You fucking with me?” Jean scoffed before a wide smile stretched his lips and he almost bounced to the stairs. “I've got to go and see it! See ya later, Arlelt!”

Armin raised a hand to send Jean off but the intern was already too far to see him. The blond slowly lowered his hand and glanced at it with a small frown before he shrugged and decided to focus on things way more important than his more than mediocre people skills. The young man opened the door and made his way into the archives, wrinkling his nose a bit when he was surrounded by dust everywhere, before he stopped in the middle of the room. His eyes traveled over every electrical cabinet and he sighed heavily when he noticed that every drawer had probably over fifty folders in it.

“Well,” Armin whispered while he cracked his fingers with a decided face. “Let's get to work.”

He quickly noted that the archives were actually quite well ordered and that he just had to take the folders laying over a single desk in the corner of the room, and then place them in the correct drawers. Actually, it wasn't really hard for him and Armin ended his task quite fast. In fact, he took this as an opportunity to glance at the folders and his eyes widened when he read quite a few interesting names over the folders. He had ended over the C drawer and this one contained things like “ **C** _atastrophe_ ” or even“ **C** _assandra_ ”.

The last one made Armin suck a breath and he hurried in opening it, his fingers feverishly turning every page as he drank all the information. Alas, there wasn't much in it for it was just a list of names dutifully written down, along with a couple of numbers and what seemed to be the person's birthday and date of death.

He memorized every name and clicked his tongue as he noticed that most of those people were already dead. And that they hadn't been older than their twenties when it had happened. Armin's eyes narrowed while he frowned and then his eyes stopped over the last name. It was a mere scratch but the person wasn't dead. And there had been a question mark added at the end of that name, as if the scientists hadn't been sure if that patient had to been consigned in the Cassandra section or elsewhere.

Armin straightened any crease over the paper and began to gnaw on his lips while he carefully went over the data written next to the last name.

“ _Magnolia_ ,  _Isabel. F. Battery not found. Stabilization needed._ _Cassandra_ _?_ ”

Who was this Isabel? And what did those words mean?

Armin began to pace absentmindedly in the archives room, his fingers patting lightly the paper while he muttered to himself. His mind was running on its highest fumes and his eyes were slightly hazed as he went over any information available that he could connect to those loose words written next to Isabel's name.

That ' _F_ ' was her gender, obviously. But what about the battery? Did they mean some kind of energy source that the seers needed? If it was the case, it would explain the “stabilization needed” that followed the affirmation that Isabel's battery hadn't been found. However, that sounded a bit farfetched to Armin and he sighed heavily.

He glanced at his wristwatch and bit his lip when he noticed that he was supposed to clock out in less than thirty minutes. That gave him enough time to look into another file before they send someone to see if he had died under all those folders. Armin took a deep breath and quickly put back the Cassandra folder and hovered his fingers above another drawer, his eyes widening when he remembered having seen a “ **B** _attery_ ” folder before, when he had been ordering the files as Hitch had told him to.

Armin hurried to the correct drawer and opened it harshly, his breath quickening as he reminded himself that he had less than thirty minutes to look at the file. Luckily for him, he worked well under pressure and fetched the correct folder in less than five seconds. And, just as he read the title, the blond knew that he had hit the jackpot.

Because, just at the top of yet another list of names, some scientist had let a post-it card with a really nice explanation of what Armin had been looking for.

“ _Battery: two patients whose presence influences over each other's powers. It can worsen or enhance one's ability depending on what the members of the battery wish. Also increases the patient's lifespan_. – H.D. ”

This was it. This was all Armin had been looking for since he had noticed Eren's tremendous lost of weight. If he found Eren's battery, his friend would get better. Everything would get better! And they could-

' _Wait a minute_ ,' Armin immediately forced himself to stop hoping for the better and put back the battery file in its drawer. The blond cleaned the room, making sure that there wasn't any trace of his little snooping around, and he got out of the archives room. Once the door was closed, he leaned against it with a tired sigh. ' _Before rejoicing, you should look for a way to find Eren's battery. And once it's done, there's still the problem with the professor Zoë, Erwin Smith and the government in itself._ '

Well, hadn't been Armin the one who had complained about the boredom he felt? Because with all the problems that surrounded his best friend, the blond was pretty sure that his life would get quite busy. And sharp grin tugged at his lips and Armin walked to the exit, ready to clock out and report everything to Eren and Mikasa. The two had been quite adamant to meet with him once he'd finished his day, and Armin was actually excited to see them because their last time together had been so long ago.

“Hey, Arlelt!”

Armin was surprised when he heard Jean calling for him, and he slowly turned to look at the other intern. The latter was running toward him, a wide smile on his face while his eyes were sparkling with mirth.

“I'm glad I got to see you before you left,” Jean told him as he slipped his pass through the detector and waited for the blond to do the same. “I wanted to tell you that the weaponry development was the sickest thing I've ever seen! Did you see those lasers?” His brown eyes widened as he opened his arms to convey how big the weapons had been. “And I'm pretty sure that I've seen some guys working on nanobots!”

“Yeah,” Armin nodded as he clocked out and put back the pass in his pocket. “That department is really interesting. Did you see the AI?”

The blond opened the door leading to the exit and waited for Jean with a small smile. However, just as he pushed open the door, his eyes caught a glimpse of dark hair and annoyed green eyes. Mikasa and Eren were waiting for him.

“Are you kidding me?” Jean exclaimed loudly while he put his arm around the other intern's neck. “That was the sickest thing in their lab! Did you see how it moves?”

Armin nodded with a little smile and raised his hand to greet Mikasa and Eren, his smile widening when the two waved their hands and called him.

“Yes, I did,” he answered and then slightly turned his chin toward Mikasa and Eren. “I need to go, see you tomorrow?”

“Y-yeah,” Jean stuttered as his cheeks turned cherry red and he bashfully scratched his neck. “See you tomorrow.”

Armin grinned at his (maybe) new friend and went to join his two best friends. Mikasa smiled gently at him while she softly tugged Eren's sleeve to make the brunet come closer. When the latter refused with an annoyed scowl, she promptly put her arm around his neck and whispered something in his ear, immediately making Eren blush vividly.  
Strangely enough, Armin heard something crunch behind him and he glanced at Jean with a worried face. The other intern was scowling at his crumpled pass, his hand tightly gripping it while his eyes were glaring daggers at his feet. How weird.

“Armin,” Mikasa's soft voice called him and the blond smiled happily at his best friends. “How was your first day?”

“Pretty good,” he answered with a big smile. Armin glanced at Eren's scowl and then slightly frowned while he met Mikasa's eyes. The young woman slowly shook her head and then looked at Jean's retreating back.

So it was important and couldn't be told where someone could hear them. Armin's eyes darkened and he pursed his lips. Mikasa put her hand over his shoulder and squeezed it softly, trying to calm him before he worried too much. Armin nodded discreetly and felt a shiver run over his back when he noticed a familiar face hanging behind his best friends.

Hiding behind a car and reading some newspaper with his sunglasses on, Erwin Smith tilted his head toward them like some mocking reverence. Armin gritted his teeth and looked around him, making sure that they weren't followed by more people. However, the street was pretty empty and there was only Jean walking toward the nearest subway station with his shoulders hanging down and hands in his pockets.  
That was weird. Armin began to gnaw softly on his lips, trying to remember if he'd seen something that could have caused such a drastic change in Jean's mood but couldn't see one. And there was also the issue with the detective Smith following them to deal with. Right. That was probably more important that his fragile new friendship.

“How about we drink something while I tell you everything?” Armin proposed as he tilted his head slightly to the left, just where Erwin was reading his newspaper, and wiggled a bit his eyebrows. Mikasa widened her eyes in surprise and nodded softly, her hand slightly tightening her hold over his shoulder before she let it go.

“Okay,” she accepted in a soft sigh while Eren frowned at their silent talk. “Let's go to _Big Ass Flowers Everyday_ , I have something to give to Petra.”

Armin nodded, inwardly pleased by how fast the young woman had understood their situation and had immediately found the best way to get out of it. However, the way Eren's frown had increased and seeing how his green eyes were glaring daggers at Mikasa, something had to have happened between him and Levi.

What had happened between those two?

Armin sighed wearily and rubbed tiredly his eyelids while he promised himself that the next time Eren ended alone with Mikasa's uncle, he'd bug the entire room to make sure he could actually help those helpless and lovesick fools. Seriously, it was almost painful watching those two turn around each other and yet never make the first step toward the other. And the misunderstandings! Gods, there were so many of them.

The blond sighed heavily and followed Mikasa while he took Eren's hand and softly tugged at him, asking him silently how he was doing. The brunet met his questioning gaze and just shook his head while his annoyed scowl slowly receded and let his worry shine through.

“Later,” Eren told him in a whisper.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

_Moving the rock had taken Farlan and his united effort to move and finally free the poor kid. The latter was still deliriously gripping about being left alone and Levi was obliged to go back to his side and hold his hand. His normally constantly present clean-freak side stayed strangely quiet as he intertwined his fingers with the smaller and blood covered ones of the boy. The kid slowly opened an eye and the teen felt his heart stop when he saw the dazed and faraway look in that dilated pupil and the faint ring of green freckled with gold and blue._

“ _Hey,” Levi weakly said as he tightened his hold on the kid's lax hand._

_The boy's pupil dilated and then shrunk while he looked at him, as if the younger male was trying to focus on him but couldn't really._

“ _I'm still with you,” the dark haired teenager added, his whole body buzzing faintly with the adrenalin pumping through his system. He glanced briefly at Farlan, noticing how his best friend was moving some rocks to hide the blood, and looked back at the kid laying at his feet. “See? Just like I promised.”_

_The kid's eye slowly blinked and Levi felt his heart jump in his throat when the eye never opened and that bony chest stopped breathing._

“ _Farlan!” his voice snapped like a whip in the otherwise silent backroom and his best friend immediately went to his side with a worried frown on his youthful face._

“ _I'll give it to you straight, Levi,” Farlan told him with a sigh, his grey eyes looking like molten metal as he narrowed them and observed critically the dying kid. “He has less than forty percents of chances to live through this.” He stopped talking and tilted his head, listening to something that Levi couldn't quite hear through the distant cries for help and the sirens of alarm. “In fact, make it thirty-five. He seems to have some blood in his lungs.”_

“ _Fuck,” Levi summarized their situation quite eloquently. He gritted his teeth and looked around him, his eyes straying over the kid's ashen face and then at the small opening Farlan had gone through to join them. While it was true that Levi hadn't been really injured during the earthquake and could slide through that hole in the backroom without any problem, he knew that the kid wouldn't be able to do it. He was losing way too much blood. And his right arm along with his left leg didn't look good either. “Fuck!”_

“ _Levi,” his best friend whispered as he put a compassionate hand over the dark haired teenager's shoulder. “I know what you're thinking but it would be better to get going. Isabel can't stay that long in front of the shop, we need to get going.”_

_Levi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The kid's hand was laying lax in his fingers and he could faintly feel the small flutter of his pulse against the pad of his thumb. The boy was a fighter, still fighting nail and tooth to be alive._

“ _Levi,” Farlan repeated with a stronger voice. “We can't do anything for him. Leave the kid.”_

_The boy's pulse fluttered under his fingers and Levi gritted his teeth until he heard something crack in his mouth. Blood rushed in his mouth and the dark haired teen opened tiredly his eyes._

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Petra glanced with a worried frown at the heap of dark hair and depressed pout that was supposed to be her boss. She didn't really know what had happened to Levi recently but the man looked like he had spent the whole night wallowing over the bad decisions in his life (and she knew that there had been quite a lot) and drinking himself until he neared a drunken stupor. Without any surprise, she learned that she'd been totally right when Levi looked up as she clocked in for her afternoon shift, tying her apron with a practiced ease and walking to the sink to clean her hands. The man looked like he's spent his whole weekend in a coffin and then crawled to the surface with the worst hangover ever.

“Sir,” the young baker began as she thoroughly cleaned her hands.

Levi muttered something that sounded like ' _Not so fucking loud_ ' and Petra took it as a signal to keep talking. She dried her hands with a white and fluffy towel, patted her apron to make sure that it was correctly tied and finally turned to look at her boss. The latter was still half laying over the counter and she sighed heavily when a heavily lidded eye looked at her.

“If you pardon my language, sir,” Petra added as she sat in front of her boss and squeezed gently his hand. “You look like shit today.”

Levi grumbled something akin to an agreement and the young baker tilted her head. Her hazelnut eyes took in the crumpled shirt of her boss, the slightly greasy hair and the heavy rings under his eyes. Yeah, he really looked like shit.

“Do you want me to manage the shop today?” she added with a smile. “You could take a nap in the backroom.”

Levi's eyes widened, horror painted all over his face and he softly shook his head.

“Not the backroom,” he muttered almost grumpily. “Nothing good ever comes from there.”

“Right,” Petra nodded, keeping her gentle smile while she inwardly wondered what had happened to her boss to shake him so badly. Had it been a fight with Eren? If that was the case, she'd have to have a little chat with the boy. No one messed with her boss. She shook her head and decided to focus on Levi before she even began planning the brunet's demise. “How about I make you some chamomile infusion and you read my book? There doesn't seem to be a lot of clients today so you could take it easy, sir.”

Levi nodded reluctantly and finally moved from his spot, ignoring Petra's worried frown and the way she hurried to the stove and began puttering to make his infusion. The young baker pursed her lips as she remembered her boss's empty eyes when he had answered her questions and she tightened her hold on the box of chamomile leaves. She really needed to find out what had happened between Levi and Eren.

Maybe a little confrontation between those two with herself and her boyfriend as mediators would help.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Levi sighed heavily and sat in the corner of his tea shop, his eyes briefly assessing the rare clients in the room. There was a blond man drinking a cup of coffee while he read a newspaper with a worried frown, a couple looking at each other with stars in their eyes (and it made Levi cringe when he saw them as it remembered what he couldn't have with a certain someone), a kid typing on his tablet with a frown and a tea getting colder and colder as the kid ignored it, and, finally, a man looking at him with a wide grin, sunglasses perched over his nose and hiding his grey eyes while his pale brown hair was hidden under a black cap. The last person made Levi widen his eyes in surprise and he quickly glanced around him, his lips pursing in a scowl when he noticed that the blond reading a newspaper was actually looking through the window, probably waiting for someone. The couple and the kid working on his tablet weren't really paying attention to their surroundings, so that made them disposable elements around him.

The dark haired man sighed heavily and he walked reluctantly to the brunet's table, his grey eyes narrowing when he saw that the latter was smirking at him, his fingers thrumming softly on the wooden table while he cocked his head.

“Farlan,” Levi greeted coldly as he took a seat in front of the man.

“Levi,” the brunet retorted as coldly. “You look like shit.”

“Like you can tell with those glasses on,” the dark haired man commented, a brow raised in a silent dare when Farlan frowned at him.

They were interrupted by Petra, the woman put his chamomile infusion between the two males, probably hoping to defuse the rising conflict between the two.

“Here's your infusion, sir,” the young baker said in a soft voice before she turned her eyes to Farlan and cocked her head. “What about you, sir? What will you take?”

“Give him the same shit Erd takes,” Levi answered before Farlan could even open his mouth. “This little shit can't appreciate the good things...”

“You hurt me, Levi,” the brunet commented as he was a good sport while Petra nodded stiffly and walked away. “And here I thought that we were friends...”

Levi didn't answer the silent jab and merely looked down at his infusion. The water was still hot and he observed absentmindedly the arabesques that the fumes were making above the infusion. Meanwhile, Farlan intertwined his hands under his chin and clicked his tongue softly.

“You sound sad,” the brunet said once Petra left the table and both men were sure that no one could hear them. “Isn't it weird? You were supposed to get the best part, tending to her dream and...”

“Don't,” Levi softly whispered as he carded his fingers through his hair. He winced when he felt its greasiness and sighed. He really was in a bad shape and Farlan had chosen the worst day to irrupt back in his life. “I really don't need that right now.”

“Oooh,” Farlan crooned softly and tilted his head. “Do I sense some troubles in paradise?”

“Stop it, Farlan,” the dark haired man hissed as he lifted his eyes away from his cup of chamomile infusion and glared at the brunet. “You and I both know what happened that day and she really wanted it. Or could you perhaps be thinking of betraying your promise?”

Farlan clicked his tongue and suddenly smiled brightly at Levi, making him blink in surprise. He'd forgotten how easily his former best friend could go from his cold and almost heartless self to the smiling facade he always wore around civilians.

“And here's your coffee,” Petra appeared right in front of them and put Farlan's drink on the table. As she did so, her eyes searched for Levi's gaze and asked him silently if he wanted help.

The dark haired man felt a sudden surge of affection for his employee and just shook his head softly, a brief smile on his lips when he saw Petra purse hers and leave the table with a small click of her tongue. Sometimes, Levi truly wondered what he'd done in his former life to deserve such a good friend and employee.

“She seems nice,” Farlan commented, forcing Levi to focus back on their dangerous conversation. “And I bet she's pretty too.”

“Yes,” the black haired man reluctantly said, thinning his lips as he went over all the things that Farlan could ask him.

Their last meeting hadn't ended well, years ago, when Isabel had left them with a rather obscure note asking them to follow their promise. Back then, Levi had also been holding some resent toward his best friend for what had happened in that damned backroom.

The sound of Farlan's cup hitting softly the china plate startled Levi away from his grim memories, and the black haired man raised his brows in surprise when he noticed that his friend was biting softly on his lips.

“Do you remember Isa's note?” the brunet asked him in a soft whisper.

Levi just nodded, his throat tightening when he remembered how Isabel's scratchy words had asked him to open his dream shop and wait for the good one. Now that it had happened and that Levi had screwed everything up, he could finally understand what she'd mean by those words.  
She'd wanted him to meet Eren again and finally get some closure on that horrible day. But, as always whenever Levi was concerned in Isabel's visions, nothing had happened quite as she'd wanted and he'd ended alone and miserable.

' _Like you deserve_ ,' he reminded himself quite grimly. The memories of Eren's betrayed look, of how his eyes had widened before they had darkened in fury, of how he had punched him right in the face before he'd stormed out of his bunker, still hunted him and Levi looked longingly at the closed bar. He really needed some alcohol right now.

“She asked to look for a safe and open it at a due date,” Farlan continued with a small sigh. “I want you to read what I found there.”

Levi furrowed his brows, ready to refuse and go back to his pretty normal life. However, the memory of Eren's betrayed look was enough to stop him. So he merely raised a hand and took the crumpled paper in Farlan's fingers. He put the paper on the table and straightened any crease on it, his brows furrowing while he read what was written over it. Like he'd thought, Isabel's chicken writing was all over the paper, reassuring Farlan that she'd knew what she had been about to do, telling him to not worry as she'd be alright and, finally, telling him what he was supposed to do once the time had come. Also, just at the end of the page, written as if she'd been hurrying, there was something concerning him.

“ _And_ _to_ _you, Levi_ ,” the concerned man read with a small frown. “ _The former intern is the mole. Code's 29-08-19-86. Good luck, big bro._ ”

“What the fuck does that even mean?” he muttered to himself while Farlan snorted softly.

“Fuck if I know,” the brunet told him with a shrug. “But I'll follow her orders. Will you?”

Levi carefully folded the paper and then gave it back to Farlan, straightening his back and sipping his chamomile infusion.

“Yes,” he finally answered, his voice decided and unwavering as he finally felt as if he'd done something good.

And just as he felt good with himself, felt as if he could begin to piece back what little was left of him and, maybe, forget what had happened with Eren, the door ringed as it opened. Levi felt like he'd been punched right in the solar plexus as he watched the three new clients, and he curled his hands into fists, taking deep breaths to keep calm.  
Meanwhile, those green eyes that had haunted his nights faintly met his shocked eyes and narrowed angrily at him.

“Hey,” Farlan whispered as he leaned toward him. “Isn't that the brat? You know, the one in the backroom?”

Levi glared at him and stayed silent, his eyes going back to the three college students. Mikasa sat in front of Eren, facing him and raised a brow, daring him to get up and join them. However, the older Ackerman shook his head and tilted it toward Farlan, telling her that he was already busy with someone else. His niece parted her lips softly in surprise and nodded, her brows slightly furrowed telling him that he still had to talk to them once his friend left.

“Are you kidding me?” Farlan muttered during the Ackerman's silent discussion. “He actually survived? What's this kid made off? Titanium?”

Levi smiled softly as he remembered the talk between Eren and his doctor, Moblit, and on how they had accorded that a prosthetic leg in titanium would be way too pricey for him. But he quickly wiped that smile off his face because he could still remember how his new leg, even if not made of titanium, had hurt like a bitch when Eren had kicked him in the shins to get free and leave the bunker.

“You'd be surprised,” he finally answered as he finished his chamomile infusion. “He's quite the fighter in him...”

Farlan harrumphed and emptied his coffee before he put down the cup, wincing a bit when he heard the distinct clutter of the china hitting the plate.

“Don't remind me of that,” he grimaced before cocking his head and grinning at the dark haired man. “That little monster's still alive, right? Must be a sign.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“ _Like hell,” Levi hissed as he glared at Farlan through the dust falling around them._

_The earthquake had stopped minutes ago and the alarms were back to blaring, telling the civilians that it was now safe to get out. It mostly meant that they had little time before the stolen car attracted some unwanted attention.  
Levi took another deep breath, ignoring how the dust tickled his throat as he breathed it and he spat the blood in his mouth, coughing raspy as he tried to expel the dust out of his system. Farlan was standing to his side, his grey eyes glowing almost unearthly in the sparsely lit room. Isabel shouldn't be that far then, if the pale brunet was able to move so easily and react as fast as he did now. _

“ _Then what will you do?” Farlan asked him, his eyes sharply assessing their surroundings. “The kid's dying and we're stuck here. What's your plan?”_

“ _Isabel,” Levi said coldly as he crouched.  
He glanced at the boy's pale face, his fingers hovering above those slightly pudgy cheeks that were covered in dust and blood. The boy had told him that he was named Eren and was afraid of being alone. He had saved his life and Levi would do the same._

_Because Ackerman always gave back what they received, be it bad things or good ones._

“ _Yes, Levi?” the young redhead's voice chirped in his ear and Levi breathed more easily when he distinctly heard the approval in his voice._

_Everything could only go nicely when one had a seer approving his actions. Levi smiled to himself and checked quickly if he had any injury to his legs and ankles. Luckily for him, when he had been trapped under those rocks, only his shoulder had been nicked and he knew that it wouldn't impede him from acting his plan._

“ _Move the car,” he finally explained the plan and felt the small bundle of stress and fear in his chest relax enough to let him breathe easily. “You know where to stop. Farlan, go outside and help her prepare a stretcher. Knowing Isabel, she must have taken one.”_

“ _You know me so well,” Isabel chirped happily before she cut the transmission._

_Levi smiled warily and then looked at the kid, Eren. He caressed softly the kid's brown hair, absentmindedly noting how soft it was in spite of all the dust it was coated with, and took the boy's limp body in his arms. His shoulder flared in pain but Levi ignored it. He stood up, his knees cracking a bit under the added weight and he began waddling toward the opening. Farlan had already left, his feet slightly slipping over the dust, and Levi followed him._

_His charge stayed unmoving while he climbed through all the rubble and the dark haired man felt sweat run freely over his forehead when one of his feet slipped over the dust. However, he kept his balance, even if his right ankle suddenly flared in pain, and continued climbing toward the exit, gritting his teeth and ignoring the blood coating his arms, the searing pain in his shoulder and ankle._

“ _Almost there, Eren,” Levi whispered into the kid's soft hair. “We're almost there so don't go to sleep, you hear me?”_

_The boy weakly grunted and the dark haired man felt his heart soar. Eren was still alive and conscious. He could save him._

“ _You won't die,” the teenager assured as he stopped in front of the small hole in the wall. “You hear me?” Farlan was on the other side and clumsily pushed the stretched into the hole until it was in Levi's side. The latter carefully put his charge on the stretcher and made sure to tie tightly the kid to it before he pushed it toward his best friend. “You won't die.”_

_And he didn't die._

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Eren wanted to scream at Mikasa for the more than obvious try to make him talk with Levi. Or about him, he wasn't so sure of what her plan could be. Though, now that she had Armin by her side, the brunet knew that he was fucked. No one could win against Armin. No one.

The blond was currently looking at him with his big blue eyes, probably considering what threat would be more efficient to get him to spill the beans. Knowing Armin, that could happen. And, just as Eren was asking himself why such a scary person could be his best friend even if he could be the best villain in the history, Armin sighed heavily and cocked his head, waving his hand softly to call the waitress.

The latter was Petra and she glared at Eren as if he had killed her grandmother. The brunet blinked in surprise before he realized that kicking her boss wouldn't really make himself likeable to the generally smiling and generous brunette. Petra took Armin and Mikasa's commands before she left, masterfully ignoring Eren. The college student tried to not let it affect him, he had been the one to attack Levi without really telling the man why. Or rather, he'd told him why, with his voice hoarse and tears streaming all over his face. And snot, most probably. Eren had always been an ugly crier.

“So what did you do this time, Eren?” Armin asked him with his voice as calm and unfazed as ever.

That made Eren gulp nervously. He knew better than everyone else that Armin only talked like that when he was at mere seconds from exploding and screeching at someone from failing to follow his plans. In fact, the blond coconut (as Levi had so smartly called him) could be quite the mastermind and hated when someone didn't follow his orders.

“I did nothing,” Eren retorted, his temper showing through his gritted teeth and tightly clenched fists. “It's this bastard's fault, sorry about that, Mika, he's the one who hid all those things from me!”

“So I take it as you suddenly found something about Mikasa's uncle that you ignored?” Armin summarized quietly. He stopped talking as Petra was coming to their table and she gave them their drinks before she left. Not without another glare at Eren though.

Mikasa snorted softly and hid her face behind her cup of milk tea, trying to avoid kindling Eren's temper. But it was all for naught and the brunet merely rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest with a pout.

“Did you know, Mikasa?” Eren asked suddenly, his voice way softer than before. It made the two other students lose any wish to keep joking about their situation and they all sobered down. “Did you know that your uncle actually met me when I was a kid?”

Mikasa furrowed her brows and put down her milk tea, her grey eyes looking briefly at her uncle before she glanced at Eren's serious and kind of sad face.

“No,” she finally answered him quietly. “I didn't. When did you two met?”

“The earthquake,” the brunet simply said and the two other didn't need to elaborate further.

Armin closed his eyes, remembering Levi's words when they had gone for a job, how the adult had confirmed that Eren wouldn't like going through the Shiganshina shopping street, and almost cursed himself for not having noticed it earlier. Of course, Levi had met Eren before and it had been glaringly obvious that it had been during the earthquake.

' _Such a genius you are_ ,' he chided himself.

“So you met during the earthquake,” Mikasa said when the silence between them became too dense. “And then? What happened to upset you so much?”

Eren opened his mouth, ready to explain how much of a prick Levi had been back then, but quickly closed it. He felt kind of bad to explain what had happened back then. Strangely enough, those memories felt like they should be kept private. The way Levi's voice had shook when he had talked to him so Eren would stay awake, the way those blood covered fingers had carded through his hair... It was all too private, almost intimate for him to actually tell what had happened.

However, it didn't change the fact that Levi had left his side when he had promised him that he'd stay. And Eren had never gotten his chance to talk with the back then teenager to know why he'd had such a prediction.

And then, there was the thing with Levi still feeling guilty for what had happened to him.

' _As he should_ ,' some part of Eren's mind whispered and it was like a poison insinuating itself into his psyche and making him wonder if Levi's actions could ever have been sincere or if it had always been his guilt that had made him act that way toward him.

“Eren?” Armin turned his wide and innocent eyes toward him and Eren was gone. Like always whenever those killer eyes were used. (And Eren was pretty sure that Armin knew how efficient those eyes were).

“Nothing,” the brunet muttered. “Things happened back then and he still feels guilty for it.”

“Should he?” the blond asked him and Eren cursed him silently for always finding the most sensible part and pushing it.

“I don't know,” Eren sighed heavily and he let his head fall over the wooden table, inwardly remembering the talk in the same tea shop with Levi and on how happy he'd been when Levi had told him that he wanted to go out with him. “I think that he should but at the same time, I don't want him to. And yet, I still feel as if he really should feel guilty for what happened to me, does that even make sense?”

Armin didn't answer him, drinking his coffee (black, like his soul, Eren thought with a tiny smile) before he put down the cup and cupped his chin pensively. Meanwhile, Mikasa tilted her head and glanced at her uncle, silently wondering what could have happened between Eren and him. Her keen eyes noticed how crumpled his shirt was, the way his eyes were never really open and his greasy hair. Whatever had happened back in his bunker with Eren had seriously shaken her uncle. She sincerely hoped that they'd be able to mend their relationship.  
Levi and Eren had looked so happy whenever the other was mentioned. And Mikasa had never seen her uncle look so hopeful at the mere mention of someone's name.

“In my opinion, Eren,” Armin finally said and it startled the two other students out of their thoughts. “You really should talk about this with Levi. And!” he quickly added when he noticed Eren's frown and curled fists. “You should do it with a specialist there to pacify the things and make sure you both don't leave with a misunderstanding.”

“What?” Eren immediately protested. “I don't need a shrink! We don't need a shrink! And, if you haven't forgotten, weren't you the one who told me that I shouldn't contact anyone from the government?”

“As if I would forget something that I've said,” Armin snorted elegantly and finished his coffee before he turned his head and glanced at Levi's table. As he did so, the blond noticed that the pale brown haired man sitting in front of Eren's future husband was looking at him with a smirk. It unnerved Armin and the latter decided to act on it, raising a hand and making a sign to the man to join them. The latter chuckled, patted Levi's shoulder (and the latter grimaced as if it had hurt him, making Armin narrow his eyes) before he joined the three college students.

“Good afternoon,” the man greeted them with a suave voice and a small tilt of his head. He took off his cap and immediately sat next to Mikasa. The young woman didn't react at all, confirming Armin's suspicion that the man was a good friend from Levi.

Even if the latter's grimace told him the opposite. Levi reluctantly followed his friend and sat next to Armin, just in front of Eren, before he glared at the man.

“Farlan,” Mikasa's uncle hissed angrily. “What the fuck are you doing!”

“Doing what Isa would've wanted,” the stranger named Farlan answered quite easily before he kissed softly Mikasa's cheek. “How are you doing, Mikasa? You're growing more beautiful by every time I see you!”

“Don't touch her!” Levi and Eren immediately sprung from their chairs and threatened angrily Farlan.

The latter chuckled and tilted his head, his sunglasses still covering his eyes and puzzling Armin as to why the man would keep them on. Unless he was blind, of course. The blond considered that option while he absentmindedly kept track of Levi and Eren's brief meeting of eyes and on how both had slightly blushed and immediately avoided each other's gaze.

Interesting.

“Well, well, well,” Farlan clicked his tongue and turned his head toward Eren, a smile still on his lips. “I can see what Isabel meant when she told me that you'll go well with Levi! _You really make quite the pair_!”

Armin's eyes widened in shock and he stared at the man with a mix of surprise and horror. The way Farlan had insisted on that last sentence had rung a bell of alarm in his head and the blond narrowed his eyes while he remembered that post-it card in the archives. And above everything else, the Cassandra list with all those names, could it be that the Isabel in that list was the one the stranger had just mentioned?

“What is it?” Farlan asked him with a raised brow. He had quite the sharp senses if he'd seen Armin's sudden shock and realization. The blond's face darkened as he duly noted in his mind that he'd found another worthy opponent in his scheming.

“Could you perhaps mean Isabel Magnolia?” he asked softly.

Farlan's polite facade suddenly slipped and Armin noticed how the brunet gritted his teeth and a small muscle on his cheek pulsed.

Seems like he hit the nerve.  
Good.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“Oh god, here we go,” Eren muttered as he rolled his eyes.

He ignored Levi's questioning eyes and rubbed tiredly his forehead. Strangely enough, the extremely annoying headache that he'd bore with during all the day had finally vanished. And it left him tired, extremely so.

“What's happening?” Levi asked to Mikasa and the young woman gave him a tiny smile before she tilted her head toward Armin and Farlan.

“Whenever Armin finds someone as adept as him with scheming and manipulation, it can take him hours before he finally agrees to notice us,” she explained quietly so the two pale haired men wouldn't hear her.

“Fuck,” her uncle simply said as he did his best to avoid looking at Eren. “Farlan's the same...”

“I know,” Mikasa sighed and smiled softly at Eren. The latter was blinking tiredly and fighting against a creeping yawn. “That's why I didn't want them to meet.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So many things in so little words. Not so much interactions between Levi and Eren but next chapter should change this.  
> And in the next chapter, you'll get a lot of talks. And some Ouran vibe.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and Levi talk. Truffles are made and Armin schemes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like this chapter, it's quite lighter than the others and the misunderstandings seem to fade away.

Eren fell asleep just as Farlan and Armin were exchanging jabs thinly disguised under compliments. Mikasa raised an intrigued brow while she observed her best friend's scrunched face and slightly parted open lips, before she glanced at her uncle. The latter's harsh frown had softened down to an almost pensive glare and he was watching carefully the sleeping young man, his grey eyes shimmering softly with fondness.

The young woman smiled discreetly and she intertwined her fingers on top of the table, ignoring Armin and Farlan's battle of wits while she silently observed her uncle gaze fondly at her best friend.

' _There's still hope_ ,' she nodded to herself and her lips quirked up as she remembered Eren's worried words about her uncle. And the tired look in her uncle's face when she had seen him today.

They were two obstinate idiots but that wouldn't stop them from being in a good relationship. Mikasa tightened her grasp on her fingers and closed briefly her eyes, silently promising herself that she'd do her best to make the two men happy.

Eren snored softly and Mikasa tilted her head, her eyes slowly opening to see her uncle's small and fond smile.

' _There's still hope_ ,' she fondly repeated to herself. Her eyes strayed from the future couple to the two arguing men. They were both reaching to a stalemate and Mikasa smiled when she noticed the little impressed light in their eyes.

Armin furrowed his brows and folded his arms while Farlan did the same.

“Truce,” the blond suddenly said, deciding to stop fooling around and finally get straight to the subject that mattered. The younger man tilted his head and his eyes darkened threateningly. “Until we decide if the other is an immediate threat.”

Farlan's lips quivered a bit, trying to hide his rising amusement, but the man nodded sternly.

“Okay,” he accorded as he shook Armin's hand. “Truce.”

Mikasa's smiled widened as she saw the two shake their hands, and she nodded to herself.

' _Good_ ,' her smile widened as her thoughts focused back on her uncle and Eren. ' _Now the only thing left is them..._ '

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

The juice was slowly creating a puddle under the glass, and every time she took a sip from her glass of juice, she couldn't help but watch, transfixed, how the puddle increased.

“Ackerman?”

Mikasa blinked, chasing away the little thoughts and memories plaguing her mind. 

“Miss Ackerman?”

“Yes?” she answered back, her eyes losing their dazed look while she briefly coughed and focused once again on the man sitting in front of her.

It was a man in his forties, with slightly receding brown hair and small beady eyes hidden behind his glasses. The stranger pursed his lips and tilted his head while he wrote something in his notebook. Mikasa watched him write, reading the upside down spidery writing without any trouble. However, as she did so, the young woman got a bad surprise and she felt an old and disgustingly familiar feeling come back and tightly embrace her.   
Shame was sluggishly pulling at her skin, scratching insistingly at her nerves while her heartbeat increased.

"I recon that you go with the name Mikasa now, right?" the man added lightly, his voice lulling her into trusting him.

' _Don't_ ,' she reminded her, her heartbeat quickening even more while she got flashes of those horrible days spent crying in the lavatories.

"It is my name," she calmly told him, her grey eyes narrowing as she read what he'd added in his notebook.

_**'A bit confused with all those hormones. Aggressive too.'** _

Mikasa took a deep breath and turned her eyes back to the glass of juice. She clenched her hands into fists and let out her breath, the tenseness slowly leaving her body.

' _Don't let him get to you_ ,' she reminded herself, remembering those same words coming from Eren's mouth as he wiped the blood flowing from his busted lip. ' _You're an incredibly strong woman and you shouldn't even have to listen to the likes of him._ '

“Right, right,” the man chuckled briefly and then looked at her, his small and beady eyes observing her with a look that gave her shivers. “But didn't you have another name? What was it again?”

Mikasa gritted her teeth and looked quickly to her right, meeting her coach's eyes. The woman was seated in the corner of the coffee room and was drinking a cup of latte while chatting with the other girls from the team. The coach nodded softly, her brown eyes flickering briefly to the nosy man before they came back to Mikasa's face. Reassured with the silent approval, the young woman stopped clenching her fists and put her hands on the table before she leaned over it until her head was in front of the man's inquisitive eyes.

“I recon that this was an interview about the volleyball team,” she softly whispered, her grey eyes flashing threateningly at the stranger.

The reporter merely smiled and nodded, his beady eyes glinting. It gave Mikasa a bad feeling and she quickly sat back on her chair, trying to put enough space between her and the man.

“Indeed, it is,” the reporter chuckled and his lips thinned seconds before he tilted his head and smirked at her, goading her into lashing at him. “About the female volleyball team, that is.”

Mikasa bristled and took a deep breath.

“ _You're an incredibly strong woman and you shouldn't even have to listen to the likes of him_ ,” had said Eren when they had been two gangly and spotty teenagers. He'd lashed at an idiot who had told Mikasa that she was a freak, and had ended expelled from their high school along with a busted lip. However, Eren had never regretted it and had made a point to always tell her that he'd do it again.

“So,” the man added, his eyes glinting in dark amusement at her growing frustration and shame. “How did you get into the team, _boy_? How much did your parents have to pay to get you in?”

The word, that hated word, was what broke any restraint in Mikasa's spirit.  
She suddenly stood up, her hands slamming on the table while she glared hatefully at the man.

“Keep talking like that and I'll,” she threatened the man with all the hate she could muster. But before she could even finish her threats, a harsh hand fell on her shoulder and forced her to take a step back. Mikasa turned her head to glare at the intruding person in her conflict and quickly closed her mouth when she saw her coach's face.

The woman had her lips thinned into a line and her brown eyes were cold as a blizzard behind her glasses. And her glare was directed at the reporter.

“The interview is over,” coach Riko announced coldly. “Mikasa, go back with the team.”

“Yes coach,” the young woman whispered softly. She left without a glance and looked down at her hands, wincing when she noticed that her nails had pierced her skin and that small rivulets of bloods were falling on her palms.

As she did so, her eyes falling on her hands and thus ignoring what would happen behind her, Mikasa didn't notice how her coach thinned her lips and looked ready to launch herself at the reporter's throat.

“Ackerman,” coach Riko's cold voice resounded in the small coffee room, disturbing the cozy silence and catching everyone's eyes. “Don't go thinking that I didn't notice the deplorable state of your hands. Go home and come back once your hands are back to their prime state, did I make myself clear?”

“Yes, coach,” Mikasa acquiesced and slowly left the coffee room.

Once the door was closed behind the leaving girl, the coach Riko snapped her attention back on the reporter and sneered at him.

“As for you,” she hissed threateningly while her voice took a glacial temperature. “You shouldn't have messed with one of my girls...”

“Is that a threat, madam?” the man cocked his head and his smirk quivered a bit when Riko merely shook her head and her sneer morphed into a menacing smirk.

“No,” she assured coldly. “It's a bloody promise.”

The reporter sneered back and calmly took his notebook before he put it in his bag.

“I see,” he sternly commented just as he left.

The coach sighed heavily and looked at her volleyball team.

“Braus!” she barked, her voice slightly less colder than before.

“Yes, m'am!” a brunette immediately perked up from her post behind another player and stopped eating cupcakes.

“Go watch over Ackerman,” Riko ordered while she took her phone out and went over the list of her contacts. And, as she did every time the security of one of her players had been compromised, she called the family.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Levi glanced at his phone and furrowed his brows. He wiped the counter one last time and then threw his rag at Erd, fetching his phone before his employee had even had the time to take the rag.

“What is it?” he answered the call icily.

“It's me,” the familiar voice of his older brother retorted back and Levi frowned. They had made a deal to never call the other unless something had happened.

“So what happened?” the dark haired man asked while he tilted his head and met Petra's curious eyes. “I guess you need me for something, right?”

The young baker furrowed her brows slightly and took a step toward Levi. However, the latter raised his hand to stop her and made a brief move toward his phone, his lips silently saying her to stay where she was.

“Yeah,” his brother sighed heavily and Levi's frown increased when he heard the distinctive sound of a car starting. “Something happened to Mikasa and she refuses to talk with us... Can you go and visit her to make sure everything's alright?”

Levi sucked a breath in and closed his eyes tiredly. He could remember his niece's calm composure the last time he'd seen her, the way she'd smiled happily while she watched her blond coconut friend argue with Farlan, the way she'd silently told him to make peace with Eren.

“Sure,” he finally said, a sigh leaving his parted lips. “Does she need something else?”

“Yeah,” his brother repeated with another sigh. “Do you know her best friend, Eren Jaeger?”

Levi's heart jumped in his chest, memories of the young man eating spongecake while chuckling at one of his quips going through his mind, and he muttered a faint approval.

“She asked for him too,” the other Ackerman commented. “Can you go and fetch him? If she saw the both of you, I believe she'd get better...”

“Got it,” Levi sighed as he ended the call. The adult looked with absent eyes at his phone and sighed another time as he remembered those green eyes flashing with betrayal and hurt at him. “Well,” the dark haired man added to himself, “isn't this so fucking great...”

He shook his head, faint tresses of inky hair falling over his forehead as he wondered briefly if Eren would be at school or in his apartment.

“Sir?”

Levi turned his head to look at Petra and raised a brow when he saw that she was looking at him with a worried face.

“What is it?” he asked coldly, his mind still wondering about Eren's whereabouts and how the boy would react if he were to see him now. The last time hadn't been that concluding, seeing how the college student had fallen asleep seconds after Levi had sat in front of him.

“Did something happen?” his baker added while she bit nervously on her lips. “Could it be with Eren?”

“Not really,” Levi answered absentmindedly as he untied his apron and put it on its hanger. “I'll take the day off, make sure that the two don't fool around.”

“Yes sir!” Petra immediately answered before she straightened the creases on her apron and looked back at her boss' face. “Sir, if you still have problems with Eren... You could talk about it with a professional, I know someone who wouldn't make you pay for it too! And you could also do couple therapy! And...”

“Maybe later, Petra,” Levi muttered, his thoughts still focusing on Eren and therefore not really listening to his best worker. “I've got to go, look after the shop and don't break anything.”

“Yessir!” the three employees almost saluted him as he left the shop and Levi shook his head with a fond smile.

He stalked to the subway station and began to look for a proper way to tell the news to Eren. Knowing how anger prone the brunet could be, Levi would have to tread carefully in those waters. Maybe if he'd taken some pastries with him, the boy would have been less difficult to deal with? The dark haired man's strides slowed down and he stopped in front of a bakery, his eyes falling on one of the pastries and he pursed his lips when he saw the perfectly sliced strawberries as well as the seemingly perfect crust. His pastries hadn't been that pretty.

Though they had been excellent if he could trust how quickly Eren had finished that strawberry shortcake.

His lips briefly quivered and Levi shook his head. Now wasn't the time to remember about Eren and the way the boy had almost inhaled his shortcake, thanking him for such a good treat and then smiling nervously at him. Even if the way those green eyes had peered shyly at him from under those thick eyelashes had been almost otherworldly, his chance had passed by and Levi had lost it. The adult sighed heavily and walked to the subway station, his eyes darkening as he remembered the damned day, when everything changed and a snotty kid irrupted in his life to considerably change it.

Once he got to Eren's street and stopped at the door of the boy's apartment, Levi took a deep breath. He absentmindedly carded his fingers through his hair, pushing back the stray locks, and straightened his back before he pushed the ring to Eren and Coconut's apartment. To his growing nervousness, nobody answered and Levi shuffled briefly while he considered between ringing another time or going to Eren's college like some stalker creep. While the boy had made his point very clear about not wanting to see him again, Levi still needed to find him to take him to Mikasa's side. And, knowing how loyal the kid could be, Eren would accept at the mere mention of his niece's name.

Making his mind, Levi shook his head and turned around, ready to head off to that damned college. And just like that, the dark haired man almost ended headbutting a passerby in their stomach, though the latter had been fast enough to steer away from Levi's face and had caught him by his shoulders so he wouldn't be put off balance.

“What the fuck,” Levi muttered as he glared at the passerby who had almost made him fall on the dirty sidewalk. But just as his eyes caught sight of a familiar face and distraught expression, the Ackerman quickly felt his anger simmer down until it vanished. “Eren? What are you doing here?”

The brunet furrowed his brows and his hands left Levi's shoulders, making the latter frown at the sudden loss of warmth.

“I live here,” Eren retorted with a raised brow. “What are _you_ doing here?”

Levi sucked a breath through his gritted teeth and slightly tilted his head to the side while he observed the brunet, noticing the heavy backpack on the youth's back and the short showing the prosthetic leg as well as a golden brown one. For such a cold day, Eren was wearing light clothes and it made the dark haired man wonder if the boy had a higher temperature than the norm.

“Levi?” Eren asked, his voice slightly less cold and biting than before.

It surprised the other man, lulling him some siren's song and promising him that the college student wasn't actually that mad with him, that there could still be something between the two of them. But those were merely an old man's disillusion, Levi thought grimly as he thinned his lips and pursed them.

“I was looking for you,” he finally answered Eren's first question. And, seeing how the brunet was ready to protest (or call him a stalker, Levi would understand if he did), the older man quickly added, “Something happened with Mikasa and she asked for you. Will you come with me?”

Eren's guarded expression suddenly melted from his face and he took a step toward Levi, his hands falling back on the adult's shoulders while green eyes peered worriedly at him.

“What happened to her? Is she alright?” the college student immediately interrogated, his teeth biting nervously on his lips and making Levi want to stop the younger male before blood was shed.

“I don't really know,” the adult admitted reluctantly. “Something happened with her and her parents were called. However, she refused to talk to them and asked for you...”

Eren's eyes lightened with a sudden understanding and Levi sighed softly. That would probably mean that the boy knew better than him what had happened to his niece. The dark haired man watched silently how the younger man took out his phone and quickly send a text. Probably to his niece or to Coconut head.

“I see,” the brunet whispered to himself when his phone buzzed with an answer, before he looked back at Levi and tilted his head. “When's the next train to her college?”

“In two hours,” the dark haired man answered after checking his wristwatch.

“That should be enough time,” Eren exclaimed happily before he suddenly pulled Levi by his sleeve and forced the adult to follow him in the building. They went up the stairs loudly, Eren ignoring Levi's protests and the boy opened his door with a simple kick from his good leg while he leaned against the older man so he wouldn't strain his prosthetic leg. The latter didn't comment on that, silently appreciating the brief warmth and the smell that was purely Eren, before he frowned angrily once the boy turned to look at him with an overenthusiastic expression.

“Come in!” he pressed him happily before he threw his coat at the hanger and bolted in the diminutive kitchen.

Levi silently obeyed, his eyes carefully going over everything and a relieved sigh left his mouth when the adult realized that the apartment was as clean as ever. Seems like Coconut head was as strict with cleaning than him.

“Come on, Levi!” Eren's head peered from the kitchen door and he made him a sign to follow him in, his green eyes shining almost happily at him. “We don't have much time!”

“Time for what?” Levi asked as he followed the brunet in the kitchen. His eyebrows went up as he saw the college student tying a “ _kiss the cook_ ” apron while he also looked in the fridge for milk and eggs.

“Baking,” the boy answered with a wide smile. “Whenever something happens, be it bad or good, I bake a cake for Mikasa. Wanna help?”

Levi couldn't take his eyes away from Eren's back, or rather his bottom as the boy was slightly bending over while he looked for something else in the fridge, and gulped loudly while he tried to regain his composure.

“Why not,” the dark haired man simply said before he walked to the counter and observed the ingredients and bowls. “What are we making?”

“Chocolate lava cake!” Eren perked up once he heard Levi's approval and quickly jumped to his side, putting down the rest of the chocolate on the counter and smiling widely at him.

Levi coughed, trying his best to look somewhere else than the radiant smile on Eren's face. Then, his eyes fell on the chocolate laying innocently on the counter and an aggravated frown quickly tugged at his lips.

“What the hell is this shit?” the adult muttered while he glared at the chocolate. “You can't bake with that kind of chocolate! It'll taste like shit.”

“Well, I don't have another kind so we'll have to make do,” Eren shrugged while he took his phone out and began to search for a proper recipe.

“Over my dead and rotten body,” Levi sneered before he stalked out of the kitchen and went to fetch his coat on the hanger. “I'll go buy a good kind so be a good boy and wait for me...”

“Like hell I will!” the brunet protested right away while he ran after Levi, his sneakers squeaking as he slightly slipped over the floor. “I'll go with you!”

“No,” the dark haired man immediately retorted as he folded his arms over his chest. “Like hell I'll let you go out, you could get sick or slip over something and break your neck, or...”

“Goddammit, Levi!” Eren hissed angrily while he stormed until he was at mere inches from the adult. “I'll be fine! So let me go with you!”

Levi widened his eyes in shock, a faint memory whispering the familiar words in his mind.

“ _Don't leave me..._ ”

Pursing his lips and shying away from Eren's eyes, Levi accepted with a simple sigh to have the younger man tag along and opened the door silently.

“Let's go,” he said, his voice almost dead and causing Eren to frown worriedly at him. The brunet followed him silently, his green eyes never leaving his back and Levi forced himself to stop clenching his fists and just relax. However, it was all for naught, mostly because Eren wasn't someone to let an argument pass by without picking at it.

“Why did you change your mind so easily?” the college student asked while they went down the stairs.

Levi ignored him and opened the front door, taking a step back so the brunet could go out first. The latter widened his eyes at the sudden display of manners and frowned at him, even if he did follow the adult's silent order. The adult closed the door behind him with a small sigh and finally looked at Eren, not really surprised when he saw that the college student was frowning at him, his green eyes looking accusingly at him while he had folded his arms over his chest.

“Why did you change your mind so easily?” Eren repeated. “I know that you don't do it so easily, you just have to remember that day in the tea room!”

Levi rolled his eyes as he remembered the way the brunet had caved under his orders and eaten the strawberry spongecake. The adult shrugged in lieu of answering the brown haired young man, and almost smiled when the boy bristled angrily at him.

“You're insufferable,” the brunet muttered lowly before he stalked angrily to the nearest grocery.

Levi followed him silently, his lips curving into an amused smile and the adult found himself actually happy when Eren turned to look at him, a pout over his face and his eyes glancing expectantly at him.

“Come on, old man,” the college student called him. “We don't have all the day...”

Levi sighed softly and quickened his strides until he was walking side by side with Eren. The brunet nodded approvingly at him and pulled him by the sleeve once they went into the grocery store. They walked silently, the dark haired man only looking at Eren while the latter was busy checking the shelves and looking for the chocolate. But the silence hanging between the two of them quickly got annoying for Levi and the man began to think of a safe topic that wouldn't end in them brawling or, in Eren's case, bawling.

He quickly went over any kind of topic possible, from the boy's studies to their last time alone, until he ended making his mind.

“So,” Levi began as he awkwardly leaned against a shelve and observed Eren squint his eyes while the boy read the ingredients in one of the chocolate bars. “When did you begin baking cakes for Mikasa?”

Eren blinked and put back the chocolate bar in the shelve (for Levi's relief as that chocolate was of the worst kind if one used it for a chocolate cake), before he straightened his back and looked at the adult with a confused face. He seemed to be looking for something in Levi's eyes and the adult merely watched him silently, his brows rising when he saw the brunet suddenly smile softly at him.

“Back in high school,” the latter told him, his voice way softer than before and his eyes lightening to a really nice shade of green. “I had just gotten my prosthetic hand and needed to get used to it, while Mikasa was going through the worst part... So I began baking for her.”

“I see,” Levi nodded pensively and almost looked away when he saw Eren smile at him. “She has always been a glutton for chocolate. I remember that she used to steal all the truffles in my shop...”

“Really?” the brunet chuckled and shook his head fondly as he tried to picture his best friend stealing chocolate from her stern uncle.

“Yeah,” the adult acquiesced and looked at the chocolate bars, his eyes briefly flickering at Eren's amused smile before they went back to the shelves. “And she stuffed her mouth with them whenever I caught her stealing...”

“That doesn't really surprise me,” Eren commented as he leaned toward Levi to see what kind of chocolate had caught his eyes. “Back in high school, she always took my Valentine day chocolates and ate them by herself, pretending that it was to check if one of them had been poisoned...”

Levi chuckled and took one of the chocolate bars, nodding appreciatively when he noticed that it was on discount.

“Let's take that one,” he told Eren while pushing the chocolate in the boy's hands.

“You sure?” the brunet asked while he checked the price and saw how low it actually was.

“Yeah,” the other man nodded and after thinking over it for a little while, he added three other chocolate bars in the boy's hands and took some cocoa powder as well. “With that, we should have enough to make some mean truffles.”

“I'll check if it's okay with her, then,” Eren immediately answered while he clumsily tried to deal with all the chocolate in his hands and also take his phone out of his pocket.

Levi rolled his eyes and took the chocolate from the brunet's hands, noticing the latter's relieved smile before he quickly stalked to the checkout. There weren't that much people waiting in line so Levi was already paying for all the chocolate when Eren joined him, his cheeks slightly flushed and his lips smiling shyly at him.

“What did she say?” the adult asked him as he handed the money to the cashier.

“That you better use the good cocoa powder,” Eren told him as he cheekily batted his eyelashes at him. The brunet quickly sauntered away with a small laugh and Levi shook his head with another roll of his eyes.

“But is she okay?” the dark haired man inquired once he got out of the grocery store with all the chocolate under his arm.

Eren stopped looking cheekily at him, his face sobering to an almost stern look, and nodded.

“Yeah,” he answered with a small sigh. “She's fine.”

“Fine,” Levi repeated with a relieved sigh. “Okay.”

Eren fell into beside the adult and looked at him with a smile, his eyes looking for the adult's face and his smile widened once their eyes met.

“I wouldn't have pegged you as the overprotective uncle, you know,” the brunet told him lightly. “But it actually suits you really well...”

“Is that so,” the dark haired man plainly said while he ignored the way those green eyes raking over his body had made him feel a little bit warm over the collar.

“Yeah,” Eren added happily as they walked to his apartment. “It's kinda cute. Also, the way you told your friend to back away from Mika was cute too...”

Levi furrowed his brows and wrinkled his nose while he went over the brunet's words. They stopped in front of the door and Eren opened him without a word while the adult continued mulling over his words.

“I'm not cute,” Levi finally muttered grimly as they began taking the stairs.

“Sure, whatever you say, old man,” the brunet cheekily retorted before he began to run, the adult quick on his feet to pursue him.

Eren laughed loudly as he stopped in front of his door and he quickly opened it, his hands clumsily turning the key in the keyhole while he nervously peeked over his shoulder at the adult going up the stairs and glaring at him. The college student's laughter continued and the boy bolted in his apartment, merrily avoiding Levi's hands when the latter almost caught him, and he quickly hid behind his couch. Green eyes peered maliciously at the adult from over the couch and Levi rolled his eyes before he threw one of the chocolate bars at Eren's head. The boy winced when he got hit straight over his forehead and promptly reciprocated by throwing a cushion at the dark haired man.

“You little shit!” Levi exclaimed as he narrowly avoided the cushion and quickly riposted by throwing it at the brunet's face. “Weren't we supposed to bake something?”

“Right,” Eren promptly sobered down and wiped the tears of hilarity from the corner of his eyes with a small sniffle. “Sorry, got a bit distracted.”

Levi merely shrugged and walked to the kitchenette, his grey eyes going over the rest of ingredients before they went back to the brunet.

“Let's get it on, then,” the dark haired man muttered to himself.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Armin looked nervously around him and took a deep breath, his hands tightening their hold on the bunch of files he was holding, before he finally got the nerves to knock at the door. Someone told him to enter and the blond let out his breath before he did so.

“What is it, Arlelt,” the young woman was hunched over some sheets of paper, balancing a pen between two thin fingers, and didn't even look at him.

“I've finished ordering the archives,” Armin explained softly, his blue eyes going over the sheets and he quickly read the upside down words without much difficulty.

[ _ **Cassandra's state worrying. Looking for battery. Put under Lenz care**_.]

Armin raised a brow when he noticed the familiar name and he quickly filed that new information in a part of his brain. Probably the professor Hanji would be able to explain what the last sentence could mean. Or, if he were to be punished with the archives again, he could look for the Lenz name in one of the files.

“Is that so?” Hitch muttered before she blinked tiredly and finally looked at the blond. “And why should I care? Do you want a medal or something?”

“Not at all!” Armin retorted while he forced his face to express shyness and nervousness in lieu of his growing annoyance. “I just noticed that some files didn't really have a name so I couldn't order them correctly... And because you're my superior, I thought you'd know...”

“And you were right,” Hitch said as she preened under Armin's carefully worded compliments. “There's little that I don't know of in the archives. I was the one who ordered them alphabetically, you know? Along with the discovery of the battery system too. Though that is strictly confidential...” she added with a proud smirk.

“I see,” the blond commented with an impressed face while he quickly marked the ' _find who is H.D_.' case in his mind. “It was brilliant of you to think of ordering the files alphabetically, Professor Hitch! Thanks to your work, I think that all scientists in this country can work way more easily than before... And,” he said almost as an after-thought, his eyes falling in a fake shyness over the files in his hands to avoid meeting Hitch's avid gaze, “I'm sure that your discovery was a really important step in the studies of this establishment!”

“You're right,” the young woman preened even more with Armin's compliments and she shrugged in mock humility. “But it wasn't that much of a discovery, you know? Even if it helped all the studies about witches and actually explained a lot of things that had been considered indecipherable years ago...”

“Really?” Armin looked up at her with star filled eyes. “Wow! That must have been quite the discovery! Could you tell me?”

“Well,” Hitch's smug smirk widened and she made a hesitant face. “I don't know... It _is_ classified, you know...”

“Please, professor,” the blond begged as he began to plan on how he'd extort the information from the prideful woman. She seemed quite weak against compliments so maybe that would be enough to make her crumble. Or maybe some seduction would work. Though he'd have to ask the detective Smith for that, Armin knew that he wouldn't be Hitch's type.

“Maybe if you buy me some coffee,” the woman suddenly told him with a mocking smirk.

Knowing that he wouldn't get a proper answer today, Armin nodded excitedly at her and got out of her office, his eyes narrowing as he closed the door behind him. He quickly went over what he'd just found out and his blue eyes darkened coldly while he began to elaborate another plan to get Hitch's confession.

So the woman had been the one to find about the batteries. Then she was the best person to interrogate about the increase of lifespan... But she clearly despised him and would never told him about her researches.

Armin gritted his teeth and glared at the wall in front of him. He was stuck. Unless he asked for help. The blond glanced at his wristwatch and sighed heavily when he noticed that he still had two hours to go before he could leave and actually call the detective Smith. Armin nodded to himself with a decided face and quickly scuttered away to fetch Hitch's coffee.

Hours later, when Armin wearily made his way to the employee's room to check out and finally leave, he was surprised when he met the other intern and the latter ignored him. Frowning worriedly, the blond raised his hand and froze right on his spot when Jean turned to look at him. The other college student had a haggard look and sullen eyes.

“What happened?” Armin asked in lieu of his carefully planned 'Hey, how are you?'. The blond winced at his badly worded greeting and he prepared himself for Jean lashing at him.

However, the other young man merely sighed and looked at him.

“Nothing,” the boy grumbled sullenly.

“You sure?” the blond insisted while he carefully folded his intern blouse and put it back in his shelve. “That doesn't look like nothing to me...”

Jean's eyes flickered to the door before they went back to Armin's face, making the latter think of Eren whenever the brunet hesitated about telling of a really bad prediction that he'd heard in the street.

“It's really nothing,” Jean sighed heavily before he looked down at his shoes and grumbled under his breath. “Just a stupid heartache...”

“Is that so,” Armin absently said. He had never been that great with love and all those kind of things. Sure, there had been this time when the blond had wondered if he actually was in love with one of his best friends but he had quickly found out that he just loved them like his family. And that had been that, there hadn't been any other kind of feeling in his life so Armin had decided to just close the case and focus on something else.

“Yeah,” the other intern shrugged and looked at the blond with hope filled eyes. “Who was the girl waiting for you the other day?”

“The girl?” Armin frowned with a puzzled face, trying to see the connection between Jean's heartache and someone waiting for him. “You mean Mikasa?”

“Mikasa...” Jean whispered with awe. “Even her name is beautiful...”

' _Oh my_ ,' the blond thought with a surprised face. ' _Who would have expected this..._ '

Then, just as Jean asked if she was seeing someone, Armin wrinkled his nose and shook his head softly.

“She isn't,” he answered honestly while he wondered about the best way to break the news to the other intern.

“Could you introduce me to her?” Jean asked him with his eyes shimmering with hope.

Armin was ready to deny it when he suddenly remembered his own problem with Hitch.

' _I could work with that_ ,' he thought with a sudden flash of insight. ' _But Eren won't like it..._ '

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Mikasa sniffled softly as she shuffled clumsily, her feet almost stumbling over the gigantic comforter tightly bundled around her, toward the door. She didn't even look at the small peekhole and opened wide the door before she shuffled back to her couch.

“Really now,” she heard her uncle say with an aggravated sigh.

“Oh, shush it,” Eren's voice quickly followed and Mikasa widened her eyes in surprise.

Did the two actually visit her together? And actually talked to each other pleasantly? Was this some kind of karma thing?

“Seems like you're back among the living,” her uncle commented when Mikasa suddenly turned around and looked at them with wide eyes.

“We bring truffles!” Eren added from his spot behind her uncle, a big smile on his face and his eyes looking at her warmly.

Mikasa sniffed, her eyes quickly watering at the familiar sight and she hiccuped before she broke down into tears.

“Really now,” her uncle repeated in a whisper before he scooped her into his arms and tightly hugged her, almost smothering her, and then he carefully put her down on the couch.

Meanwhile, Eren had stumbled in her living room with a bowl full of chocolate truffles and he pushed it in her hands, his warm smile comforting her like always.

“Come on,” the brunet said excitedly while he sat next to her. “Dig in and tell us if it's good! Your old man of an uncle forbade me from eating one so I don't know!”

“Stop calling me like that,” her uncle immediately retorted from his spot in the living room. He was standing near her, his eyes never leaving her bandaged hands. “Or I'll whoop your sorry ass...”

“Like you could,” Eren taunted as he leaned against Mikasa, his arm quickly hugging her and caressing her back. “Mika would protect me, right?”

“Don't use my niece against me,” her uncle rolled his eyes and briefly put his hand over hers, clumsily squeezing it, before he took a step back.

“So you know that she'd protect me!” Eren preened as he blew a raspberry at the older man. “Nice to see that we all know who rules here...”

“ _Did you finally talk things through with him?_ ” she whispered in the brunet's ear.

The latter briefly froze before he went back to taunt her uncle with small jabs about his old age.

“ _Later_ ,” Eren told her quietly.

Mikasa nodded in understanding and basked in the warmth and chocolate, her loved ones around her.

The truffles were excellent and she didn't share them at all.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

When the night fell and Mikasa felt way better, the two men excused themselves and left her apartment after making sure that she was better and that she wouldn't let some stranger's words affect her. They silently walked back to the train station, their eyes shying away from the other and both thinking over the proper way to talk about the really important thing that they had both left aside during the whole day.

“You never told me why you were in that storage,” Eren finally broke the heavy silence just as they arrived at the station.

Levi almost stumbled over a stair and quickly righted himself thanks to the brunet who had quickly caught him by his left arm. He looked at the younger man, his eyes looking intensively at the calm face before the adult sighed softly.

“The reason is actually quite stupid,” he answered calmly while he steered Eren, the brunet's hand having never let go from his arm, to the correct train.

The college student opened his mouth, ready to interrogate him so he'd finally get his answers and Levi raised a finger, putting over Eren's lips softly.

“Don't worry,” the dark haired man sighed. “I'll tell you everything. I can't keep you in the dark anymore...”

Eren quickly closed his mouth and blinked, a smile quickly blossoming while he pulled the adult into an empty car.

“So, that day,” Levi explained once they were both seated and waiting for the train to move. “I was asked by Isabel to go in that storage and to wait for an important thing to happen.”

“And that's it?” Eren incredulously asked. “You were just standing there, waiting for something?”

“I know that it sounds stupid,” Levi winced and looked at the dark outside. The train rumbled quietly and began to move, making the two men briefly look outside before they focused back on their discussion. “But it's what happened...”

“I see,” the brunet whispered pensively while he cupped his chin and looked absentmindedly at the dark haired man. “But it doesn't really explain why you didn't defend yourself when they accused you of stealing...”

“Maybe because I used to be a thief,” the other man shrugged. “I'm not proud of it, but that's who I was...”

“What about back then?” Eren pressed on, his eyes narrowing while he looked critically at the adult. “Do you regret what you did that day?”

Levi sighed and closed tiredly his eyes. He looked defeated and the brunet almost regretted asking him that. However, that question had hovered in his mind for enough time and he needed it answered to move on.

“I don't know, Eren,” Levi answered him, his eyes opening and grey flashing regretfully at him. “There isn't a day where I don't ask myself what would have happened if I hadn't asked you to move the rocks, if I had just asked you to look for help... What would have happened if I left you under those rocks and went to look for professional help unlike Isabel and Farlan... Or what would have happened if I hadn't followed Isabel's words... There isn't a single day, Eren...”

“I...” the boy couldn't talk distinctly, his throat seemed to be constricted and he swallowed hard while he avoided Levi's sad but harsh eyes. “I don't regret helping you, you know?”

Levi closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

“I know,” he answered in a low voice. “And that's why I can't forgive myself. You lost so much because of me, you shouldn't have to... And how did I owe it to you? By making you lose too much blood in a dirty truck and then leaving you at the porch of a hospital...”

“But you saved my life,” Eren whispered while he looked insistingly at the adult, trying to meet his eyes and show him that he didn't hold anything against him. Not now, not after hearing his version of the facts. “I don't think that I would have survived if you had left me under that rock and looked for an ambulance. Not when all the streets were full of cracks and injured people. And I would still have lost the arm and leg. Of course, I hate it, who wouldn't? But I'm okay with those prosthetic limbs and it would be really awesome if you stopped looking so hurt whenever you see my leg or my hand...”

“Sorry about that,” Levi whispered without looking up at the younger man.

“Stop apologizing, old man, and start making up to it,” the brunet rolled his eyes and leaned toward the man, taking his hands and squeezing them softly. “How about taking me out, watching a good movie and then eating something? Doesn't that sound good?”

The adult nodded softly and finally looked at Eren, his grey eyes looking at him with something akin to amazement and his lips slightly parted.

“But don't you hate me?” he asked with a slightly puzzled frown.

“I still am angry at you for not telling me that you were the one back then in the earthquake,” Eren corrected with a sigh. “But no, I don't hate you. You weren't the one who pushed me under those rocks and I'm smart enough to recognize when something is actually my fault.”

“But it wasn't your fault, you stupid shit,” Levi immediately protested with an angry frown.

“Like it wasn't yours,” the brunet calmly retorted. “It was our choice to be down there that day, and that earthquake was a natural disaster, unless you have a superpower that you hide from me...”

“No,” Levi furrowed his brows and shook his head. “I don't have that kind of superpower.”

“Good,” Eren smiled warmly at him and squeezed his hands another time. “So we're good then?”

“Yeah,” the adult nodded and sighed heavily, his head falling over the brunet's shoulder while he squeezed his hands back. “We are good.”

Eren almost felt his heart stop when Levi leaned his head against his shoulder, and he stopped breathing when he felt the adult's warm breath caress the sensible skin of his neck.

“Though,” The older man added almost as an after-thought and making the college student go through a small heart attack. “I still have to take you watch a movie... Is Thursday okay with you?”

“Yeah,” Eren smiled widely at the adult and couldn't help himself from blushing at the prospect of going to the theater with Levi. “It's more than okay with me.”

The brunet closed his eyes and let his head fall over Levi's shoulder, taking small breaths of the older man's scent and smiling softly when he noticed that the smell of chocolate was stronger than Levi's habitual cologne.

' _If Levi Ackerman doesn't marry Eren Jaeger in 587 days, the world will end._ '

And for the first time since Eren heard that prediction, it actually brought him some comfort to know that he had to end married with the dark haired man.

 

 **Days until the end of the world :** ****587 days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PROGRESS! FINALLY!  
> And Levi and Eren are so OOC at the end, I can't stop cringing... Guess I'll someday rewrite that part...
> 
> Next time: " _Call me Arlelt, Armin Arlelt._ "


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The devil's in the details. Armin knows it too well. Erwin begins to realize things that he really shouldn't. Mikasa's the key. And Levi and Eren are hopeless(ly in love).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm back after the ereri week where I almost didn't do a thing. Yay me.  
> But here's a new chapter full of... Nothing, really.

Armin sighed heavily and considered going home. It was late, the weather was downright awful and, the last straw on the camel's back, someone was stalking him. Armin glanced discreetly at the silhouette behind him and narrowed his eyes. The bus was already driving to his stop and the college student sighed softly. While it was true that he had fixed their meeting point in the bus 104, Armin was slowly reconsidering it. Mostly because he didn't know how he was going to work with both the policeman and that one annoying stalker. The tires screeched as the bus stopped in front of the blond, making the latter sigh heavily while he discreetly glanced at the tall silhouette sill shadowing him. Seems like it would be hard to shake them from his tail.

Armin jumped in the bus, blue eyes keenly searching for a familiar face and narrowing once they found the annoying policeman. The latter was sitting at the end of the bus, his legs politely crossed while his thin lips were arched into an inviting smile. The younger blond raised a brow, his blue eyes darkening while he considered various plans before deciding on the least difficult.

The young college student merely sniffed softly before he stalked toward the adult, briefly taking out his wallet to check into the bus, and sat in the seat at the other blond's side. 

"We have company," Armin immediately said while he leaned toward the policeman and intertwined his fingers with Smith's only hand. 

The policeman raised his brows in surprise at Armin's daring action and softly squeezed his hand before he looked down and slowly leaned until his nose hovered above the other blond's ear. 

"I see," he commented in a mere whisper before a small chuckle cursed through his body. "What's the plan? Lovers cursed by fate?"

"It's the only one that could work," Armin hissed angrily while he made sure that their intertwined hands were put in display. He tilted his head to leave more room for the detective and sighed heavily another time. "What about professor Hanji?"

Erwin chucked once again and his eyes twinkled with a cold mirth while his lips stayed at mere inches from Armin's skin. The latter's eyes strayed over the seat which his stalker had chosen and the college student frowned when he noticed that his follower was blatantly looking at them and talking to their phone.

"They are listening quite attentively," the older man answered and Armin quickly glanced at the adult's ear, his eyes widening when he caught sight of a small transmitter. 

"I see," he commented softly before nodding once. 

The close proximity with Erwin was getting uncomfortable. Mostly because Armin had no idea about what was considered romantic and what was just vulgar. He decided on acting like Eren whenever Mikasa's uncle was around would be more than enough and tapped lightly his forefinger against Smith's wrist, trying to warn him about his important message. 

"They began following me today," the college student announced in a hushed voice before squeaking when the adult nipped at his neck. "Don't ever do that again," he almost recoiled from disgust but stayed in character, blue eyes darkening in anger. 

"I won't," the detective solemnly promised before wincing slightly and leaning until his nose was buried in Armin's golden hair. "Hanji asks if you know why they are following you."

"I had access to their archives yesterday. Found pretty interesting things there too. And it seems like a former intern found something about batteries that help lengthen the subject's life span. There were names too, Cassandra, Isabel Magnolia and someone named Lenz who seems to be a scientist in the known," the younger male answered honestly. "And I asked some questions today. It seems that they are getting suspicious."

"Got it," Smith nodded and raised his hand, leaving Armin's grasp, to cup the college student's cheek. The adult frowned at him and nodded once. "Don't do anything stupid that I wouldn't do, okay?" He added with a voice slightly louder than before. 

"Yes," Armin breathed out and he faked reluctance when his stop came next and he had to leave the bus. His hand hovered above Smith's shoulder and the college student narrowed his eyes.

They parted with a last meaningful gaze, Smith trying to convey Hanji's message while the younger blond merely promised him to stay alert and look for more clues.

The college student sighed heavily and glanced behind him with a small frown. His stalker was still seated in the middle of the bus, their eyes never leaving Smith's hunched body. Well, at least he had one less worry. 

Armin straightened his shoulders and faced the street with a decided frown. Now, he just had to find Eren and make sure that his best friend hadn't broken his promise and contacted Mikasa's uncle without his supervision. Seriously, the two were so awkward that Armin feared the world would end before they even admitted to themselves that they liked each other. 

Admin snorted at the thought and shook his head softly while he imagined the two would be lovers dancing around each other's feet and never admitting that they actually cared about the other. After seeing the two interest back then at the steak house, the blond was pretty sure that he would need some heavy help to get them to admit their feelings. 

Maybe a therapist could help them. Wasn't there one in Eren's former clients? Armin was pretty sure that he could get a mean discount if he used the correct words too. Yeah, that would be pretty nice. The blond nodded to himself and made a mental note to search in his lists that therapist's name and see if he gave therapy for couples.   
Armin opened the front door and thinned his lips while he thought of his impending work, searching for that therapist's name, spying in the governmental facility, annoying Hitch and making sure Jean seduced her correctly... so much work to do.

And the blond quickly forgot about that when he caught sight of his roommate's dopey smile. 

“Okay, fess up,” the blond ordered while he threw his keys and bag on the floor and raised a brow at his best friend's wide grin. “What happened?”

“ _Weeeell_ ,” Eren drawled just as Armin was folding his arms and looking at him with suspicious eyes. “I talked with Levi...”

The blond felt his eyebrow tick off.

“You did what?” he exclaimed while stomping toward the sofa where Eren was happily sprawled.

“We talked things through,” the brunet explained with a small shrug. “Everything's fine now!”

The blond jumped on the sofa, crushing his best friend under his weight and merely raised a brow when the latter began to protest silently at his smothering.

“Explain and I'll move,” Armin simply said while his eyes slightly narrowed.

Noticing that it was the blond's ' _you better do it or I'll make you suffer_ ' face, Eren nodded quickly and immediately began to explain his day. All while he pushed away the boy and then began to play on his console, mostly because he felt so embarrassed by his own tale that he needed to focus on something else so he'd be able to be as concise as Armin wanted.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“That can't be healthy,” the blond commented once his best friend finished telling him the tale of his day.

“What can't be healthy?” Eren repeated as he wrinkled his nose.

The brunet was busy playing some game on their television, his fingers deftly pressing the buttons while he targeted the main boss. Eren gritted his teeth as he missed a clear shot and groaned when the boss almost killed his character. His eyes narrowed while he leaned toward the television, a growl slowly raising from his throat as he considered ripping a new one on that damned boss.

“You,” the blond explained and, seeing that his best friend hadn't understood what he meant, he added, “I mean Levi and you! What you are doing can't really be healthy. Not when you both never explain what you're really thinking and the whole world's fate is depending on your relationship...”

The television screen exploded in millions of pixels while a big game over appeared on it. But Eren didn't even notice it, his controller hanging on the tip of his fingers while he gaped at his best friend.

“I mean,” the latter said with a flustered blush, he'd never liked being the center of attention, even with his close friends. “Are you even sure that you're going out with Levi?”

The brunet blinked, quickly reminiscing what had happened hours before Armin came home, and then nodded. However, now that the blond had mentioned the possibility of a probable confusion between him and Levi, Eren couldn't help but wonder himself.

“He said we're good,” the brunet muttered to himself. “Well, I asked if we were good... That means we're going out, right?”

Armin groaned from his spot on their couch and shrugged.

“It could be anything,” the blond kindly helped him while his blue eyes sparkled with that teasing light they always had whenever the young man was about to break Eren's web of lies. “Didn't you say this to me the other day after we fought for who got to take the shower first? Does that mean that we're going out now?”

“No!” Eren protested, his cheek turning cherry red as he burrowed his face against his hands. “It's a different good! We both know it!”

“Does Levi know it?” Armin asked him with a teasing edge in his voice.

Eren moaned and fell from the couch, ignoring the brief tinge of pain coming from his leg while he tried to think of a better way to explain what was going on between Levi and him. But before the brunet could even find it, he felt a small tap on the top of his head and curiously peeked up from his hands, meeting Armin's comforting eyes.

“Don't worry,” the blond told him with a bright smile. “I've got the perfect plan for this!”

Eren grimaced and then leered at his best friend.

“Weren't you the one who proposed a plan involving jogging through the whole city?” he teased with a wide shit-eating grin.

“We don't talk about that!” Armin swatted at his right arm and then winced since it had been the prosthetic one and his soft hand hadn't really appreciated the hit against cold metal.

“Yes, your majesty,” Eren promptly bowed and then rolled away from the blond's ire while they both cackled happily.

But all that happiness couldn't totally hide the way Armin couldn't help but bite his lips as he glanced at his notebook full of notes taken after his secret readings during his internship, nor the way Eren's eyes never looked directly at his friend if he could help it.

“Really, Eren,” Armin told him once the laughing fit passed and they were both heaving on the ground, Eren's legs laying heavily over the blond's stomach while the latter's left arm dangled from the couch. “Trust me, this plan will be foolproof.”

“Okay,” the brunet answered after thinking it over. “I trust you, Armin. You know that, right?”

Armin blinked, taken aback by his best friend's words and silently nodded.

“Of course,” he said weakly.

Eren took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

' _This boy will_ _abandon Cassandra_ _._ '

' _Shut up_ ,' Eren scrunched his eyes close and let out his breath. ' _Just shut up for once._ ' 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

The next time Eren and Levi met was less than a week after the accident with Mikasa and it hadn't been their appointed date. In fact, like the last time, they'd been reunited thanks to the dark haired young woman after she called Eren and learned that he was supposed to go at the hospital to try on his new prosthetic limbs.

Mikasa had been almost scandalized as Eren told her that he was planning on going there alone, remembering well how he'd fared when he had so in the past. Therefore, she reluctantly called her uncle, still unsure if their truce of sorts was still going on, and was more than elated when Levi told, among awkward silences and shuffling noises, that he was probably going out with her best friend. Again.

"Why probably?" she inquired when Levi stopped talking, his last word haven't even been more than a whisper.

“Why not probably,” the adult retorted with an annoyed scoff, mostly because he wanted to hide his awkwardness behind his habitual annoyed self.

“Uncle,” Mikasa sighed heavily as she rested her head against the window of her bedroom. She could see the passerby walk on the sidewalk, jogging or simply appreciating the crispy morning of the dying winter. “Did you have a fight?”

She faintly heard her uncle shuffle and someone whisper on the background before he finally answered her with a gruff voice.

“No, just ask him yourself, we are good.”

“You are good,” Mikasa repeated, voice as unimpressed as her face.

“Yeah, that's what I said,” her uncle retorted as flatly as her while the whisper on the background increased in volume until the young woman distinctly heard what they said.

“ _Just let me talk to her!_ ”

“Petra wants to talk to you,” Levi precised with a sigh before the phone was ripped from his hands and the young baker began to talk.

“Mikasa! How are you doing!” Petra chirped happily before she shushed someone, probably the young woman's uncle.

“I'm doing fine, thank you Petra,” Mikasa answered to clear up with the niceties so they could move to the interesting parts. “How is it?”

Petra sighed heavily, making some parasites rumble over the phone, and those noises were followed by steps. She was walking away from Mikasa's uncle. Then, just as the dark haired woman heard a door close, Petra talked.

“He hasn't stopped baking since the time he visited you,” the russet haired woman said with amusement heavily lacing her voice. “And he hums.”

“Really?” Mikasa couldn't help it and snorted loudly at the idea of her uncle humming while he baked.

“I'm still trying to believe it, Erd filmed it if you want a video, just text him,” Petra added happily before she sobered down and added rather hesitantly, “It's thanks to Eren, right?”

“Yes,” Mikasa nodded and smiled fondly as she remembered how her uncle and almost brother had acted when they had visited her. “They made up.”

“Oh,” Petra sounded afflicted and it made Mikasa frown in worry. “I really have to say to Eren how sorry I am! I really treated him in a horrible manner and he didn't deserve it!”

“I'm sure he has already forgotten about it,” the dark haired woman quickly reassured her friend, eyes flickering to the window. She had caught sight of something weird.

“But I have to apologize!” Petra protested. “He didn't deserve any of that and made Levi happy! Mikasa, what are Eren's favorite patisseries?”

“I think that by this point, my uncle is the one who knows this better than anyone else,” Mikasa muttered absentmindedly, all her attention focused on a heap of blond hair half hidden under the roof of the flower shop in front of her building.

“That's bullshit and we both know it!” Petra retorted, making the other woman remember that she was talking to someone. “You're the one who stayed all this years next to Eren, Mikasa! Don't sell yourself too cheap!”

“Will do,” Mikasa promised with a small smile. The blond haired stranger was still standing outside, small huffs of white breath coming regularly as they waited for something.

' _But what?_ ' the dark haired girl wondered as she narrowed her eyes.

“Great!” Petra huffed with satisfaction before she added in a lighter tone, “So what did you want to say to your uncle?”

“Eren has to go to the hospital tomorrow,” she explained while hunching closer to the window, curiosity peaking as she noticed that the blond person was at the perfect spot to observe discreetly the front door of her building. “And I wanted to ask my uncle if he could go with him since Eren doesn't go well with hospitals...”

“Okay,” the russet haired baker declared with a decided voice. “Call Eren and tell him to pass by the shop before his appointment, Levi'll go with him!”

“Thanks, Petra, I owe you one,” Mikasa hid under her window and peeked once again through it. Like she'd thought, the blond head was now walking toward her door.

“No,” the baker told her with a no-nonsense voice. “I should be the one thanking you. Also, if I send you Erd's video, will you tell me Eren's favorite dessert?”

“Course,” Mikasa grinned and slowly relaxed her tense muscles when she saw the blond head walk on the sidewalk and go away.

She turned away from the window and quickly texted her almost brother, threatening to take the train and be there herself to make sure he followed her advice. She'd already forgotten about that blond haired person.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“What do you want?” Erwin sighed heavily while he carefully made sure that nobody noticed his call.

He was lucky since he'd been stuck with another file minutes before the habitual break and pretty much every officer had left the room, leaving him all alone to answer the call.

“Come on,” his caller chuckled with loud guffaws. “I checked the security cams, you're all alone! So, what's up?”

“Hanji,” the blond sighed once again. “Is the line safe?”

A snort less than seducing followed his question.

“Is the sky blue? Do your eyebrow keep growing? What kind of question was that, Erwin?” Hanji taunted him with a mocking voice. However, their banter didn't last long and they quickly enough went straight to the bush. “Did you find anything about that Magnolia kid?”

Erwin frowned at the jab against his eyebrows and quickly glanced at the closed door before he swiftly clicked on the page he'd left open on his computer and then typed the password. Then, with a simple click and drag, he sent the whole file to the hyperactive professor.

“There,” he said with another sigh. “It isn't pretty.”

“Oooh,” Hanji cooed on the phone as they began to read the file. “Lived on the streets with two notorious delinquents, handed herself over and then vanished from the public's sight... Nothing about a possible power?”

“Let me see,” Erwin muttered as he typed and began to quickly go over the different files. Pushed by an inkling, he clicked on one of the delinquents' name and his eyes widened. “Found it.”

“Let me see it, let me see it, let meeeeeee!” Hanji began to press him and beg him.

Unfazed by the shower of compliments and begging, the policeman sent the interesting file of one Levi Ackerman to his friend and then closed everything.

“I need an eraser,” he commented lightly while turning off his computer.

“Got it,” Hanji muttered absentmindedly, probably already busying themselves with the Ackerman's files. “Next time you turn it on, open the mail I just sent you...”

Erwin groaned, he hated unnecessary moves and the fact he had just turned off his computer when he still needed it.

“You must be getting old,” Hanji snickered.

“I'm as old as you,” Erwin reminded them with a shrug even if the professor couldn't see him. “So what did _you_ find out with the kid's intel?”

“A _loooot_ of things,” Hanji crooned happily. “Seems like my intranet is still connected to the main research facility. Therefore, finding things with the correct words is _way too easy_ ~ Cassandra seems to be a running program in some hidden facility and I've only found crumbs of information about it. They seem connected to some kind of entity named Sybil too.”

“Seems like whoever named this was a mythology fanatic,” the policeman commented in a drawl.

“But there's more!” his interlocutor added without even noticing his interruption. “This Magnolia kid is also involved in this because there's a Magnolia project currently running in the weaponry development and even in the politics department! Do you know what this could mean?!”

Erwin nodded slowly, feeling quite faint as he realized what they could have stumbled upon.

“They use seers to develop weapons and made decisions related to war,” he whispered.

“Who would have thought that the witch hunting was actually the government's backbone, right?” Hanji giggled as they seemed to type excitedly. “And I've found that Lenz was indeed a scientist but that she vanished someday after creating a really nice and shiny scanner!”

“She vanished?” Erwin inquired as he looked around him. The break time was almost over and he didn't want his coworkers to know about Hanji's call.

“Yep!” the latter assured him. “Vanished. There's nothing more about her, no more entries and her badge's missing.”

“Then why didn't they file a missing document,” the blond frowned as he turned on his computer and glared at the black screen.

“Maybe because she found something really bad about the witches?” Hanji said with a voice less bubbling than before.

“If that's the case, be careful,” Erwin reminded them while he clicked on the mail they'd sent him.

“I'm always careful,” the professor loudly protested before they added in a softer voice. “You too, Erwin. This won't end well. For either of us.”

“I know,” the policeman ended the call and sighed heavily.

He knew that what he was about to do was illegal, he was about to go against their government and his own job. Against what he'd always believed and trusted. And yet... Erwin felt as if he'd finally opened his eyes to the reality and was ready to take his first steps.

And the first one would be to check on this Levi Ackerman fellow.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

“So, what do you think?” Eren asked nervously as he stood in front of his best friend, arms open wide and eyes shying from his face.

Armin made a face, eyes going over the simple yet sharp clothes, dark trousers with a white shirt and and then to the brunet's pale face and sunken eyes.

“I guess you look good?” he answered honestly before hiding behind the nearest thing when he noticed Eren's frown and hand ready to throw his wallet at his face. “Not at the face!”

“So I look good? Nothing too classy or overdressed for an appointment to the doctor, right?” the brunet muttered while he looked down.

“You look really good,” Armin told him with a bright smile. “He won't be able to look away or even remember his name!”

“That would be inconvenient,” muttered the brunet as he stood in front of their coat hanger, wondering if he should take his scarf or not. The weather had been warming recently and he didn't want to end as a sweaty mess in front of Levi. Even if it was just an appointment to the doctor. And not the movie date that Levi had accorded to do.

Why did he have to go to so many appointments to the hospital when he'd finally gotten somewhere with Levi? Things were finally sailing among them, if they let those chronic misunderstanding aside of course.

“That was just a figure of speech, Eren,” the blond deadpanned and his dead tone broke Eren's heavy thinking, making the brunet blink in surprise as his focus went back on his best friend. “Just go and make sure any misunderstanding left is cleared, okay?”

“I'll try,” Eren smiled nervously and looked one last time at the scarf before he nodded to himself. The weather had been quite nice those last days so it would be better without a scarf.

The young man bolted out of his apartment, securing the strap of his bag on his shoulders and then jumping the last stairs. He began running, the crisp air biting at his reddening cheeks, and smiled happily when he noticed the blue sky without any cloud dotting it. While he still felt tired and somewhat sore, Eren felt that today would be a great day.

His run to the Big Ass Flowers Everyday went without any problems and Eren stopped in front of the door, peering discreetly at the window to see if Levi was around.

The dark haired man was indeed working at the counter, lips thinned into a not quite there pout as he listened to one of his coworkers, Erd, chatter as they both cleaned the counter. Eren stood outside, eyes watching mesmerized how his (probable) boyfriend scowled at whatever Erd told him and then hit the blond with his rag. The two men hunched closer before Erd jumped away, a bright shit-eating grin on his face as he pointed at the window where Eren was still watching them. The brunet blushed vividly when he noticed Levi follow Erd's fingers and his grey eyes ended on the college student.

The dark haired man's lips curled up into a soft smile and Eren answered back with a grin, feeling something flutter in his chest happily.

Somewhat reassured, the brunet finally went into the shop, greeting Erd with a bright voice while his eyes never left Levi's face. The latter was still behind the counter, an elbow resting on it as he smiled softly at the newcomer.

“Eren,” Levi greeted him with his habitual gruff voice.

Suddenly shy, and quite afraid to hear his own voice squeak if he were to talk, the brunet nodded back, his smile still as bright, and walked to the counter until he ended in front of Mikasa's uncle. The latter's eyebrows faintly furrowed before they settled back and he tilted slightly his head.

“You don't have a scarf,” he stated slowly, eyes slowly going over Eren's exposed throat and then to his own eyes, stopping briefly on his half parted lips.

“It's hot today,” Eren explained with a small shrug.

Levi's eyes flickered back to his throat and the adult closed them, a small sigh leaving his mouth as he seemed to steel himself. It intrigued the brunet who leaned over the counter until he ended nose to nose with Levi.

“Something's the matter, Levi?” he asked, eyebrows furrowing when the adult suddenly jumped away from him and looked at him with dark and half lidded eyes.

“Shit,” Levi swore loudly before he ran in the kitchen and then came back, pushing Petra in front of him as a human-shield of sorts. “You do it!”

Eren blinked, taken aback by the dark haired man's strange behavior and then looked at the baker, waiting for her to explain what was going on.

“Good morning, Eren,” the russet haired woman greeted him, eyes hovering nervously above the brunet's shoulder while she fiddled with the helm of her apron. “How are you doing?”

Reassured that Petra wasn't mad anymore with him, Eren smiled happily and answered by telling that he was doing fine and really hoped to spend a good day with Levi. Just as he finished his sentence, his eyes glanced at the man and his smile widened when he caught him looking at his feet and muttering something under his breath. It was nice to see that he could affect him as much as he did with him.

“Eren,” Petra added with a half-smile, having noticed too how her boss had looked down and tried to hide his smile when the brunet had answered her question. “You like strawberries, right?”

“I actually don't like them so much,” he answered with a small shrug. “They are good, I guess.”

And, just as he said that, they both shuddered as they felt something shift in the air.

“Oh, is that so,” Levi muttered as he glared at the display stand where all their confections were.

Curiously enough, today's confections were all made with strawberries even if it wasn't the season.  
Eren blinked, slowly connecting the dots between Levi's sudden shift of mood, the strawberries cakes, cupcake and macarons, and his own words.

“Wait, no!” he exclaimed, waving agitatedly his hands while he leaned against the counter so he could see Levi's eyes. “I like strawberries, I swear I do! It's just that you hate them and since we're going out and I'd really like to k-”

Eren squeaked and looked down, blood rushing to his head as he refused to look at the dark haired man.

“To what, Eren?” Petra asked, a devilish smile blossoming on her lips while she observed her boss and his boyfriend avoid making eye contact.

The brunet moaned and hid his face behind his hands, shaking his head nervously.

“Nothing!” he croaked as he stood there, ignorant of what was happening around him.

Levi had already walked to his side, standing next to him with wide eyes and his mouth slightly gaping.

“I do believe it started with a k...” Petra teased as she watched happily how the dark haired man looked at Eren with eyes full of a warmth she'd never seen there before.

“Nothing!” Eren insisted before he finally stopped hiding behind his hands and noticed that Levi was standing closer than he'd thought. “Let's go!”

The brunet took Levi's wrist and pulled it softly while he stormed out of the shop, ignoring Petra's amused laugh and her parting words.

“Eren,” Levi said softly when they were away from _Big Ass Flowers Everyday_ and already on their way to the hospital.

The college student stopped walking and looked at the dark haired man, cheeks turning beet red as he remembered his earlier mishaps and let go of his wrist as if he'd been burned. Levi frowned and, after some thinking during which Eren went back to the blushing mess he'd been before and tried to hide it behind his hands, decided that he didn't like it.  
The adult sighed and slowly pulled away the young man's hands away from his face and then intertwined his fingers with the gloved ones, pressing them softly to make him understand that he wanted to hold hands.

Eren squeaked once again and looked at the sidewalk, not daring to look at Levi even when the latter began to walk and tugged him softly.

“So we're going out and everything's good between us?” Levi asked in a low voice.

Even if they were in the middle of a crowded street and there were a lot of people around them, Eren still heard him and felt his blush worsen.

“Yes,” he muttered before he got fed up with his shyness and blushing spell, and finally felt bold enough to glance at the adult.

What he saw was enough to break what remnants of shyness were left and Eren began to grin happily.

“Don't say it,” Levi threatened him with an angry frown.

However, it wasn't very convincing with the light blush he sported.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Armin sighed heavily as he put the last dossiers in the proper drawers and leaned back against the cabinet with electronic locks and looked at his hands. They were covered in dust and he couldn't feel anymore the tip of his fingers. He felt tired and way too overworked, without forgetting his impending asthma attack thanks to all that dust.

The blond glanced at the extremely dusty and even moldy dossiers Hitch had ordered him to file away in the archives and furrowed his brows. He was slowly getting tired of being her gofer and doing everything she ordered him to do. This wasn't helping him at all and Armin hated being used.

Not when he didn't get something in exchange for his services.

The young man walked reluctantly to the rest of the dossiers waiting for him and began to gnaw pensively on his lips, regretting that he didn't have a pen around, while his mind focused on something else.

He briefly thought of Eren and his appointment to the doctor. That one had been weird since Eren'd gotten his new prosthetic leg weeks ago. Maybe it was something related to his prosthetic arm, the brunet had indeed told him that those always took time to get and he hated the rehabilitation part. Armin sighed and decided to think of something else. Eren was with Levi now, and the blond was pretty sure that nothing bad would happen between them. Not when they were both still on the euphoric high of finally having admitted their feelings to each other. Though they really needed to talk things through.

But that was why Armin was there. He'd already called that one psychologist specialist in couple therapy and wrote down their first appointment in a place they both felt safe.

 _'Let's think of something else,'_ the blond thought as he went over the dossiers, classifying them with a speed born from hours of underpaid work. He wasn't even paid.

Armin quite believed that the best synonym for unfairness was intern. He was almost tempted to hack on the official site of the country's academy and change the definition, just for the fun. And just as he thought of doing something as silly as that, the blond's face darkened as he remembered the man with those silly sunglasses who had such a dangerous and cunning voice, expertly throwing jabs at whoever annoyed him and then smiling angelically at them. Armin didn't like him, maybe because that man reminded him of what he'd have become if Eren hadn't been there and hadn't chased away the darkness with his exuberance and bright eyes.

And, smiling fondly as he remembered his best friend, Armin took a deep breath and inhaled the dust, triggering his asthma attack. His eyes quickly glanced at the half-opened door and then at his wristwatch. If his estimations had been right, everything would go as smoothly as he wanted. His breath stuck in his throat and he felt the familiar pain in his chest. The attack was upon him.

Armin groaned as loudly as he could and fell over the table, sheets flying around him as he began to scratch the wood and tried to breathe. But he couldn't. Wheezes echoed loudly in the otherwise empty room and Armin began to pray as he felt the attack worsen.

“Armin!”

The waited scream finally came and the blond closed his eyes, glad that he'd been right all along.

Meanwhile, the other intern began to panic as he patted Armin's chest, looking for his inhalator until he found it and pressed it against the blond's lips. Jean Kirstein was more than relieved to have heard the other intern mention to their manager that he'd a bad case of asthma and that he was worried about working in the archives. That had been really lucky for the blond since he'd indeed had an asthma attack today and Jean had been around to help him.

However, there was nothing to assure them that the next time would go as good as it'd been now. Jean glared at the floor, where dusty sheets full of numbers and incomprehensible scribbles cluttered it, and then at the still wheezing boy in his arms.

“Armin,” he told him once the other intern came to his senses. “Let's switch. I'll deal with Hitch and the archives while you go and become the coffee boy.”

Armin looked down, wringing at his hands with an ashamed face, and then glanced at Jean.

“I can't!” he protested. “Hitch won't like it at all! She'll just try to force me to do something else! And besides, that work in the archives is horrible, you won't like it at all!”

“But you almost died, you idiot!” Jean protested while he thumped lightly the blond's on the top of his head. “Just let me do it. And if Hitch protest, I'll convince her. I think she likes me...”

Armin nodded hesitantly, his eyes never leaving the floor while he nibbled on his lips.

“What if,” he began in a small voice, never looking at the other young man. “What if the next time Mikasa comes, I'll introduce you?”

“Really?” Jean's face brightened and he suddenly leaped at the blond to hug him tightly. “That would be awesome!”

“Then, it's a deal,” Armin smiled back, inwardly apologizing to Mikasa even if he knew that she wouldn't mind since it was for Eren's sake.

The blond pocketed back his inhalator and then glanced at the archives. He'd already read everything he could find about the Cassandra, Sybil and even the Batteries. It was now time to move on something else.

“Say,” he began in a lighter tone as the two interns walked back to the coffee room as they had both named it. “What if you really seduced Hitch? Wouldn't she stop pestering us and give us tasks way more interesting than filing documents or delivering coffee?”

Jean stopped walking, eyes widening as he slowly thought about Armin's plan.

“Damn,” the young man commented in an admiring whisper. “You don't look like it but you can be a real manipulative little shit...”

“What can I say,” Armin retorted while inwardly shuddering at the foul description. “I can be ruthless when I need to...”

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Mikasa frowned as she exited the gymnasium with her teammates. Some girls were talking about throwing a party and celebrate the approaching end of the horrible winter, while others were muttering about their impending finals. However, that wasn't what had perturbed the young Ackerman.

The blond haired stranger was there. Standing on the sidewalk right in front of them.

Mikasa narrowed her eyes and softly pushed one of her teammates, Sasha Braus, until the brunette looked at her with curiosity. The dark haired woman glanced briefly at the blond and then at the other teammates before she looked back at Sasha.

“Got it,” the girl grinned at her and then jumped back in the group of chattering girls. And, just as happily, she directed them discreetly toward the nearest bus stop while Mikasa stayed put and glared at the blond.

“Who are you and what do you want?” she growled after she crossed the street and stood in front of the stranger.

The latter was wearing a heavy sweatshirt that covered their whole body and had their shoulders hunched, as if they didn't want to be noticed. The hood was pulled over their blond hair and if Mikada hadn't been always as attentive as her uncle had taught her, she wouldn't have noticed them.

“Are you Mikasa Ackerman?” the blond asked her in a cold voice. It was however higher than the dark haired woman had expected and she looked at the blond with distrust.

“Yes,” she finally answered after her quick check if the stranger had any weapons hidden under their clothes.

“I've read the article about you,” the blond added with the same tone. “Is it true?”

Mikasa frowned and clenched her fists. She hated this. She hated that even if she knew that she didn't have to care about what strangers thought of her, she still did. She still felt hurt whenever they looked at her with amazement because she looked like a girl even if her body hadn't been one at her birth.

“Do you know Eren?” the blond asked while they still hid their face under their hood. “Is it true that you know him?”

Mikasa narrowed her eyes as her brother's name came out of the stranger's lips.

“Why do you want to know?” she retorted coldly, ready to bolt away and then flee.

“I'm Annie,” the blonde said as she pushed away her hood and looked straight on at the Ackerman. “Eren told me to look for you if I wanted to contact him...”

“And why do you suddenly want to talk to him?” Mikasa inquired as she folded her arms over her chest.

Weirdly enough, she felt as if she could trust the blonde. But that didn't mean that she wouldn't be careful. Eren's fate could depend on it.

And Mikasa'd been right because Annie's next words sealed her impressions along with Eren's fate.

“Because it's time,” the blonde told her with a stern expression, her cold blue eyes never wavering. “It's time for Eren's prediction to unveil.”

 

 

 

 

 **Days before the end of the world** **:**  585 days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come talk to me on my tumblr, [ snarky-goldfish](http://snarky-goldfish.tumblr.com/) or just rant about that ending, I'll understand.
> 
> Next chapter: _Date._

**Author's Note:**

> I swear that everything will make more sense in the next chapter.


End file.
